Versions of a Hero
by elusivemuse
Summary: Once upon a time Darcy was a tool for Stryker. As a little girl, all she wanted to be was a Hero. Will her chance pass her by as she battles Stryker's influence? Wade Wilson/OC Origins based.
1. Chapter 1

**OK, this story is going to be a bit AU, certain people don't die when they were supposed to, and ages are a little different, though I'm going to blame Stryker's age suppressants. And to you die hard fans, I won't be following the movies or the comics stringently, I'm going to play with what I like and hope you guys don't get to fed up with me. I'm trying hard as possible to keep them all in character, however. So, read, review, and enjoy most of all!**

**Also a Huge thank you to my new Beta Reader, IcedBlaze, who helped me edit this chapter so it sounds 110% cooler than before. And for those who read the original version, Chapter One is now updated**

**Prologue: Darcy Auriel Whitlock…**

The room was little more than a concrete bunker, cold, dank and damp. Black mould covered all the walls in unique patterns. Water dripped down over the doorway, green lichen and moss framing the liquid's path. Sunlight glowed through the doorway, lighting only a small square of the room. The rest of the space was artificially lit by a weak globe, swinging morosely above the heads of five men, one tied up on a rickety chair.

The four left standing were an intimidating bunch, dressed in various adaptations of a military uniform. Ignoring the filth around him, the man with shaggy brown locks rested against a wall, his eyes darting around, actively watching, belying his relaxed form. Dressed purely in army green, he was the symbol of patriotic pride; his eyes revealed that he was a man who had seen more in his lifetime than any other had. A half chewed cigar hung from the corner of his mouth, burning orange occasionally as he took in a deep puff.

Opposite him, close to the door stood the smallest of the pack, his compact, lean form telling tales of his agility. He was an attractive man, silky black hair brushed up to the side with dark eyebrows framing slanted eyes and a regal looking nose. Shiny silver and black guns were holstered everywhere over his uniform, military pocketed vest and olive fatigue pants, two under his neck, two under his arms and two more pairs strapped to his waist and thighs. The male gave the impression of silence and sternness. Beside the strapped down man was a stocky solider, his intelligence level questionable as he paced his pale brawn around.

"I'm really good at killing. You might say that it's my specialty. That, and ballroom dancing. But guess which one I can actually make a living out of?" Kneeling in front of the terrified man on the chair was the most light-hearted of the bunch. In green military pants, a red muscle shirt and two Katana's strapped to his back, he made an intimidating sight. Sweat glistened on bronzed arms and the once flawlessly combed hair curled with humidity and perspiration. Bright, glittering brown eyes danced from a chiseled, handsome face. Abruptly he stood and, with one graceful movement, he unsheathed a blade.

"Wade!" The man on the wall stalked over to him, his back facing the prisoner. "Orders are we don't kill him. Got it, Bub?"

"Don't sweat it, Jimmy," Wade smirked. "I'm just trying to set an atmosphere. It's what one does when they're planning to dance."

"How long do we have to wait to kill him?" The southern drawl of the brawn spoke up.

"Until Stryker gets here with his new interrogation officer," Jimmy replied curtly.

"Impatient, Dukes?"

"Don't like it here," Dukes mumbled, "it's too hot."

"That's because you're sweating more than a Christmas pig twirling ballet on a spit," came Wade's reply.

"Enough with the dancing jokes," said the darkly handsome one by the door. "Stryker will be back soon and we better have something of value to offer him before he orders me to get trigger happy."

"You're trigger happy anyway," Wade snapped back with a grin. "Makes me wonder if that is how you perform in the sack, with short and quick bursts." The other man pulled out a gun quicker than the eye could follow and aimed it at Wade.

"Enough!" Jimmy yelled. "Zero, holster your gun, Wade, shut your goddamn mouth." The bronzed Adonis snapped to attention sarcastically before flipping him the bird. Zero shoved his gun away, his mouth down in a fierce frown. Wade threw the other man a happy smirk as he sheathed his sword.

"Don't worry, Jimmy Boy, I won't make you look bad in front of your man crush." Jimmy's fists clenched in anger before he walked back to his previous position. The swordsman let out a sharp laugh. "What, no threats this time? I'm hurt."

Footsteps sounded above them. Four sets. The first was a heavy pounding, almost like a predator, the next a soft slinking, like a man afraid to step on a few toes. The other two had the men in the bunker straightened sharply. One was the distinct slap of dress shoes, the steps of a confident man who had everyone obeying his commands; the second was the lightest tapping, quick like a hummingbird's. Each of the five men in the bunker strained their ears as the people above them turned and began their descent into the room.

Through the doorway stalked a hulking mass of a man, short hair cropped to his skull, huge unruly sideburns all the way down his jaw; his uniform very similar to Dukes' in his army pants and pocketed vest. His nails were ugly and yellow, arched into a vicious claw shape. A smaller man walked in behind him, dressed in full military fatigues. He was a weasel of a man, beady eyes taking in the room as he danced around the vicious man, leaving a lot of room between them. Nevertheless, as they listened before, it was the last two footsteps that had the group at the ready.

Shiny black shoes and perfectly pressed blue pants was the first sign of the man who was their commanding officer. As he walked further down, his dress uniform was revealed in all its glory. Colorful medals decorated his chest proudly. Light brown hair, peppered with silver, was combed flawlessly, offering no sign of discomfort. His eyes were dark with intelligence and piercing.

This, in itself, was not strange to the men. However, it was the other person next to him that had them off kilter, even the new arrivals. Holding tightly to the officer's hand was a little girl, no older than six years. Her baby smooth brown hair was gently brushed into a half pony tail, the rest left to hang down her back. A silky pale party dress brought out her innocent blue eyes and rose-bud lips. The party dress fit her well, the length of it going past her knees and a pretty purple sash at her waist. White tights encased her legs and black shiny shoes pattered lightly down the rest of the stairs. Shyly, she pressed herself against the man's leg as she sucked her thumb.

"Sir?" Jimmy asked sharply, disapproval coating his tone harshly.

"Men, meet Darcy Auriel Whitlock. She's going to help us today." Stryker announced proudly as he lightly pushed her forward. All the men had the same look gracing their features: shocked anger. It was unanimously agreed that a little girl had no place in the hell they were in. Wade's expression was the most unusual. He stared at her, his fists clenching and unclenching and a tick at his jaw. It was clear he wanted to say something, but was unsure what he wanted to convey.

A condescending smirk played at Stryker's mouth and he turned and knelt to the small girl. "Darcy, you know how you met my son?" she nodded solemnly. "You remember how he played with a person's mind by showing them things?" Once more, she inclined her head. "I need you to show this man on the chair one of your nightmares to get him to tell me something. We asked him nicely before, but he wouldn't tell us. You want to be a hero, right?" The man tied to the chair started to scream.

**Chapter One: Dreams and Doctors…**

"_Has he talked at all?" Stryker asked Wade as the man continued to scream loudly._

"_Sure he has. He was all, "Help me! I want a Pony! I want my Lawyer! I want my Mummy! I want my Lawyer's Mummy!" " The sharp glare he received didn't slow him down at all. "Damn, tough crowd. He mentioned some guy's name, Del Mosey Sparks." Absently, he unsheathed a sword and twirled it a few times before placing it gently back. "You know, if she continues, he's going to be a blubbering mess that's no use to anyone."_

_Stryker turned and tapped Darcy on the shoulder. "That's enough now. You're being a wonderful hero." She nodded and closed her eyes, intense concentration causing a crease between her eyes. The man's agonized cries slowly died down until he was limp in the chair, panting harshly. The other men stood in the shadows, the flickering globe above them dancing their features into ghoulish shadows. Whispered words of another language forced themselves out of the man's lips, cold sweat and tears slipping into his mouth while haunted eyes stared into space. Stryker stared at him for a while, mildly impressed. "What did you make him see, Darcy?"_

"_A nightmare," she replied in a tinkling voice. "Of a tunnel, hands in the black reaching for him with no body to be seen and a feeling of scary fear and sweat down his back." Zero, Wade, and Jimmy blinked, ignoring their shudders down their backs. The girl was creepy in her innocence. She had no idea what Stryker was really making her do. The officer nodded, listening to the spoken words that the tortured man spewed._

"_He's just repeating the name," he said abruptly. "He's of no further use. Victor, take him out."_

_The feral man smirked, the claw-like nails growing longer and sharper as he lunged._

Darcy woke up with a cry, her heart pounding and cold sweat trickling down her back. Panting harshly, her blue eyes darted around the room, taking in familiar ebony walls and bedroom furniture. Violet sheets pooled around her hips, her white tank and grey silk pajama pants twisted uncomfortably. The navy comforter had been kicked off the bed, a twisted heap on the ground. Thick brown hair stuck around her face and neck with perspiration.

Slowly, her breathing became regular and she reached over to her bedside lamp. Golden light filled the room, chasing away the shadows. Another nightmare. Groaning, she flopped back onto her pillow. There was no way she could get back to sleep after that. Her mind filled with blood and gore splattering on the walls, the dying cries of the man tortured that her dream left out. It was the seventh time she had dreamed that particular nightmare.

She threw her arm over her eyes as she tried to ignore the phantom screams that echoed in her ears. Sighing, she got up, grabbing her thick framed glasses from the pile of marking on her bedside table and put them on as her feet slipped into her slippers. A hot cup of coffee sounded like heaven to her. Straightening her clothes, she walked towards the door, picking up her old terrycloth robe from her chair as she passed.

The mansion was cold and quiet, the moon's haunting light glowing through the windows, making shadows darker and more sinister. She could hear the wind rush through the trees outside, the haunting wailing causing her to remember a different dream, a scarier one. A draft blew through the corridor, causing her robe to billow out behind her. Darcy tightened the fabric around her, tying the robe around her waist. The hair on the back of her neck rose. A sudden hysterical thought crossed her mind, the idea of the feral man watching her. Her footsteps picked up speed as she danced down to swooping stares to the front foyer.

A sliver of artificial light beckoned her to safety. It was the kitchen. Her pace quickened as she burst through the door. A bark of laughter escaped her throat as she took in the room's occupant. Sitting innocently at the breakfast bench was a blue furred man, cream and crumbs framed around his mouth.

"You, ahh, got a little something here," she said, touching the corner of her own mouth. "Couldn't resist the Twinkies again, Hank?" he gave her an abashed look.

"I thought I was hiding it so well," Hank replied mournfully as he wiped his mouth.

"A half a box of Twinkies missing causes suspicion to arise. They're meant for the students, you know and they're vicious if they don't get their treats."

"Well, it isn't my fault that the person who does the food shopping doesn't order enough of them." Hank replied petulantly. "Are you okay? You look a little pale." Darcy sighed as she walked over and sat down next to her blue friend. Pulling a Twinkie from the ill-hidden box, she unwrapped it sadly.

"It's my nightmares again. The sleeping pills you prescribed me aren't working anymore." Nibbling at the treat, Darcy stared at the green marble bench top. "I've had the same nightmare for the past week. I can't sleep, my appetite is shrinking and my concentration towards my music class is waning. My students can see I'm distracted and are running wild."

"Those pills are the strongest I am able to prescribe. Perhaps it's time to talk to the professor." Hank replied sympathetically.

"I have talked to him. We talked last night." she said, frustrated. "He seems to think it's got to do with my missing memories. But if these dreams are my memories, I'm not sure I want to know about my past."

Hank pulled her into a one-armed hug. He couldn't deny that there was something dark about his friend, something that played around the edges of her personality. It only showed when she was on a mission, a brutal mind frame that told her that there were no rules, anything was ok to do. Scott and Logan were the only two who kept her on the ball, but even then, he knew it was starting to get harder for them. Her past was a mystery, a terrifying one, he guessed. Whatever happened to her was only now starting to rise up again.

**

Darcy walked through the rows of students, their fingers dancing across keyboards. Their eyes were focused on the computer screens in front of them and headphones were over their ears to give them privacy as they played. All she could hear was the dull thud of the keys. It was her favorite time of the day, the last lesson with the warm afternoon sun shining through the tall arched windows. A breeze blew lazily through the tall tree branches and Darcy ached to go out there with a picnic blanket and a good book with the intent for an afternoon snooze.

_Darcy, come to my office when your lesson is done, please._ A warm, paternal voice in her head drew her out of her thoughts, Professor Xavier. A shrill bell screamed through the halls, signaling the rush of students packing up their belongings and escaping the room as fast as they could. Calling out a farewell, she then walked through the computers, saving forgotten work and turning the computers off. Gathering her own set of books and marking, Darcy braved the still bustling halls to go to her next appointment.

The push and pull of students made it hard for her to get where she needed to go. It didn't help that everyone was going in the opposite direction as she. Absently, Darcy smoothed down her shirt and pencil skirt with one hand. Closer to her destination, the crowds thinned and made walking a lot more easy. Looking around the halls, she was struck by a sudden foolishness as she recalled the previous night's fear. The mansion had astounding defenses to protect the people inside. Finally, she arrived at the Professor's door. She rapped her knuckles lightly against the aged wood and waited for his bid to enter.

The hard wooden door opened noiselessly, a welcoming air floating out to meet her. Immediately, she felt better, safe, and not alone. Her low black heels sunk slightly in the plush carpet, her matching black skirt stretching to accommodate her steps. Well aware that her green blouse had bunched since she last smoothed it, Darcy placed her burden on a chair in front of an imposing desk and sat in the one beside it. Opposite her sat a friendly older man, his bald head leading down to warm blue eyes and a smiling mouth.

"Thank you for coming, Darcy," he opened kindly. "Hank came to see me today about your dreams." She shifted awkwardly. Although knowing that Hank were sincere, she had hoped to be the one to broach the subject with her mentor.

"Yes. The pills he gave me aren't working anymore. I guess my nightmares are kind of pushy," she said quietly, ducking her head, letting her bangs cover her eyes. Although not meaning to, the professor always gave the impression that he could see right through a person when their eyes met.

"You already know my theory about them possibly being memories and needing you to acknowledge them." Darcy's head rose as she squared her jaw.

"If they are memories of who I used to be, then I don't want them. They're evil and cold," her voice was sharp and uncompromising. Professor Xavier sighed at her unwavering attitude.

"Fair enough, but I should warn you that the mind doesn't do what you tell it to do. Try some meditation techniques before going to bed, clear your mind instead of dreading what you might see. Perhaps your fear of the dreams is causing them to appear."

"Thank you, sir." She stood up and gathered her things once more before walking to the door. Turning to face him one last time, she gave the older man a soft smile. "Thank you for your efforts to help me. I know I've been a little stubborn recently. I'll try the meditation." He gave her a paternal smile in return and nodded at her words.

"I'll see you at dinner then, shall I?"


	2. Chapter 2

**To my awesome reviewers: thank you thank you thank you! I am so pleased with your support. Hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks to Soccer Bitch for reading through this. Also, this chapter has been replaced with an edited version and thanks to my Beta Reader, IcedBlaze!**

_Darcy held the shiny silver toy in her hands, turning it around and around with her tiny fingers. She loved to study the objects the men around her used. Wade would hold her on his lap as he showed her his Katanas, only letting her touch the handle rather than the sliver blade. Watching him practice with them was her favorite past time. To her, he was dancing to some unheard music. Jimmy had funny claws that came out of his skin. Darcy wasn't too fond of those, but she liked them better that Victor's claws. To be honest, Victor scared her with his frenzied killing. The screams of the people he hurt gave her nightmares and, more often than not, she made her way into Wade's bed to let him console her. _

_It was Agent Zero's toys that she fiddled with now. His were the hardest toys to touch. There was barely a time when they weren't living on his body and he simply refused to let her close to him. At the moment, he was out visiting the doctor, leaving Darcy a chance to get a closer look at the hypnotic objects in his room. _

_It was cold; she didn't like that very much. Wade's swords were always warm with use. There wasn't a time that he sheathed them for more than a few hours when he slept. He talked funnily in his sleep. She looked closer at the toy, bringing the hole close to her eye. The door banged open. Gasping, she looked at Zero guiltily. Fury tore at his features. Faster than lightening, he was at her side, snatching his toy away._

"_YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT! YOU WERE TOLD NOT TO TOUCH MY GUNS!" He screamed at her loudly. Darcy couldn't understand why he was so mad. All she had wanted was to take little look. Tears bit at her eyes and her lip wobbled . Silently glaring at her, he pointed to the door. With a sob, she got up from the bed, tripped over her skirts and ran out the door. _

_Down the corridors she ran, passing Wraith and Bolt, both who started after her with concern. All she wanted now was to be with her Wade. He always made her feel better. Like a shot from a cannon, she barreled into his waist, almost knocking him clean off his feet. He stared down at her in concern before lifting her up into his arms. "What's wrong, my little interrogator?"_

_Sniffling, she glanced up at his warm baby browns. "Z-Zero yelled at me for looking at his toys." Blank incomprehension gave way to dawning understanding as he realized what 'toys' she meant. Walking though a doorway, Wade entered the Sitting Room before seating himself on a couch and arranging Darcy in his lap. "All I wanted was a look." he pulled her close and stroked her hair comfortingly before tilting her head up to him._

"_You know how my toys are sharp and you only look at them with me around?" she nodded miserably. "Well, it's the same with Zero's toys. They can hurt you if handled the wrong way. You haven't had the chance to learn about them yet and when Zero found you playing with them, you scared him." Darcy blinked up at her idol._

"_But why did he yell at me?" Wade let out a small laugh. Too many different comments flickered through his mind, none that he could repeat in front of his little darling._

"_He doesn't handle his fear well, it makes him act like three wise men with thumb tacks up their arse." Darcy giggled at his words, her tears starting to dry._

"_Hey, Bub, I don't think you should use that word in front of the little lady," Jimmy said from the doorway, giving the small girl a tender smile._

"_But Jimmy," Darcy replied with a serious expression, "I'm not a lady, I'm a hero." _

**Chapter Two: Mission…**

"Hey Bub."

Darcy turned around and smiled at the visitor. Lounging against the doorframe stood her friend, Logan. With a girly squeal, she launched herself into his arms, glad to be wearing jeans and a tank rather than her teaching outfit she had on before. His arms were like bands of hot steal around her.

"Logan," she murmured against his chest. He pulled away slightly to look into her eyes. Black bags hung heavily on her pale face. Tired relief at seeing him reflected dully from her usually bright blue eyes.

"Nightmares again?" he asked gruffly, pulling her back into his chest.

His heart pounded steadily underneath her ear as she nodded mournfully. "Hank said he can't prescribe me any more pills, the ones he had me on were the strongest and all that did was make them worse. The professor suggested meditation and accepting the possibility that they are memories."

Logan was silent for a while. "And what do you think?"

"If they're memories, I'm not sure I want them. Last night I dreamed I was a little girl in this military base, playing with guns. Every dream has you and this other guy, Wade, in them. I think the mediation gave me something a little different for my nightly trauma." For the first time in over a week, Darcy could honestly say that she felt safe, that the eyes that watched her disappeared from the shadows. Her own hulking hero was home to chase away her demons.

"Here's what I want you to do, Bub. Go up to my room and have a snooze so I don't have to see those ugly bags that have no place under your eyes. I'll be up after talking to the professor." Nodding against his chest, Darcy wrinkled the slightly stained wife beater he wore.

Pulling away from her, Logan looked seriously into her eyes, his dark brown orbs reassuring and comforting. "We'll fix this. Now, what have you picked up recently?"

"The professor's telepathy, but I can't control it. Sometimes it's as easy as picking a blade of grass, the next moment like pulling water from a stone. I think I have to be in his presence for a while. I also picked up on Bobby's freezing ability." Darcy reported as they turned and walked down the hall towards the rooms. "I think I scared the kids when I touched a keyboard and the table froze." Logan let out a laugh as they came to a stop in front of a door. Opening it, he pushed her inside gently.

"Go and get some beauty sleep, you really need it," he teased. "I'm going to see the professor now."

**

"Professor Wheels," Logan said in greeting as he sat down in one of the luxurious chairs. Charles gave him an dry stare that told Logan that he didn't appreciate his humor. Xavier cleared his throat before speaking.

"Logan. I gather you have some news."

Wordlessly, Logan pulled a folded piece of paper from the pocket of his jacket. The paper was stained red with sprinkles of blood and dirt, creases and wrinkles everywhere over the print. Taking the paper, the professor smoothed it out, taking in the official looking letterhead and information printed on it. Logan waited patiently for the other man to finish his perusal, a humming tension vibrating through his taunt form.

"It's signed by Stryker and it has to do with Darcy. I couldn't understand the medical crap, but it looks really old."

"Where did you find it?" Charles asked curiously, his eyes never leaving the page.

"The night before I left. I remembered more about the base that I escaped from, mainly landmarks around it. I did a search and found an abandoned base. I couldn't get very far into it, there were blast doors in the way, but there were files everywhere. I found the one to do with Darcy and came back, hoping you'd be able to understand it a little more."

"Hmmm. I'll talk to Hank about this new development. However, there is something you should be aware of. As you recall, at Alkali Lake we took Stryker into our custody for questioning." Logan nodded, starting to get impatient. "We brought him back here and, for a time, he was under sedatives to keep him compliant. Somehow, a few days ago, he managed to escape and I have not been able to find him with Cerebro." A snapping sound echoed in the room. The armrests Logan had been resting his hands on splintered in the force of his grip as his anger grew at the other man's words. Charles hurried on with his news. "However, the base you were talking about, with its blast doors, were your claws able to penetrate?"

"No," Logan bit out.

"Fascinating. It's possible that the metal they were made out of was the same as your adamantium shell. It would be a good place for Stryker to hide. I'll gather the team together."

"I want Darcy and me there, it's got to do with our past," Logan said stubbornly.

"Naturally," Charles acquiesced.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey all, new chapter out, thanks IcedBlaze for helping me out with this one! Don't own X-men or anything affiliated with it, etc. Hope you enjoy this one and let me know what you think.**

_Darcy rubbed her tired eyes as her feet dragged against the cold cement. Around her, the dull grey walls of the base seemed intimidating and far too close together. Stryker's footsteps echoed down the empty hallways as he led her by the hand, guiding her into one of the back rooms. Darcy could hear the distinct 'drip drip' of rainfall as it leaked in through cracks in the old structure. For convenience sake, the group of them had come to settle in an old, abandoned prison and made a temporary base out the site. _

_The building itself had her trembling in apprehension; in fact, the whole situation had her so uneasy that she found herself pressing closer to Stryker, despite the fact that he had been the one to bring them there in the first place. The fact that it was pouring outside and water dripped in through cracks in the unstable building didn't make her feel any better. A thunderbolt crackled loudly from outside and Darcy jumped in fright, alarmed and scared by the loud noise. Stryker held a hand against her back and urged her forward with him. Darcy's teeth jittered. She just wanted to go to sleep and leave this awful place. It really did give her the creeps. _

_A skeleton crew of guards opened a set of heavily barred doors as they continued walking. She could hear shrieks and cries of people further in. The clamoring of hands as they slammed against their cages beat a rhythm in time with the pleading cries for freedom. Some voices rose higher, above the others, as they let out long streams of harsh, guttural threats of vengeance. Another door opened in front of them, revealing the source of the noise. Her hands covered her ears quickly._

_It was like a dam breaking, the furious noise crashing into her un-sympathetically, without remorse or recourse. It was continual, never-ending, like something out of her worst nightmares, except this time, there was no Wade or Jimmy to wake her up, to hold her and soothe her, letting her know that everything was okay. With his hand still on her back, Stryker continued to push her forward and she contemplated throwing a temper tantrum to get out of there. The noise was starting to make her feel ill. _

_As if reading her mind, Stryker made a motion to one of the guards. Nodding, the man moved over to one side of the doors and pressed a button. Pained, panicked cries halted the vicious symphony as the prisoners sullenly moved back from their prison doors; heated, deadly glares followed them as they moved down the metal cage corridors. When Darcy chanced a glance at the people she walked past, their reactions to her were strange._

_Some looked at her with pity, others with resignation but most ignored her altogether, instead choosing to glare with hatred at the man beside her who was her escort. Eventually, they came upon a unique cell. It was completely covered in glass, with a small metal air vent at the back corner to keep the occupant breathing. Sitting calmly on the perfectly made bed was an unusual man. He was bald and huge, threatening in his calm, relaxed state. Tanned muscles bulged from his too-small orange jumpsuit. However, it was his eyes that captured her attention. The softest grey eyes that she had ever seen stared at her with devastating sadness. They made her want to cry and hug him at the same time._

_"Take him down," Ordered Stryker from behind her. She turned quickly, her mouth open to protest. A pained cry forced her attention back to the other man. Billows of white cloud pumped into the room from the vent in an alarming rate. No longer was the prisoner relaxed; now he thrashed and fought against the vaporous attacker. Angry, helpless tears streamed down her cheeks and her hand reached up to touch the cool glass wall._

_It was over in less than a minute. The toxic gas was vented out as the man lay prone on the ground. Shuddering occasionally, the man rested on the floor, his limbs spread out awkwardly. A sealed door opened with a whoosh. Stryker's hand was heavy against her shoulder as he pushed her into the cell and followed in behind her. Her footsteps were reluctant as they came up to the man's body._

_"His power is to cause a person to feel whatever he wants when they have nightmares. I want you to learn it and put it to use when you use the ability you got from my son. Am I clear?" Darcy sniffled._

_"I can't," she replied sharply._

_"What do you mean 'You can't'?" Stryker growled. "I know you can, now do as your told."_

_"I can't do it without asking for his permission," Darcy tried to explain._

_"Now, you listen here and listen well, you'll do as you're told or you'll never see your precious Wade ever again. Do I make myself clear?" Her blue eyes stared up at him with hurt and disbelief. Starting to sob, she knelt down and touched the man's arm, learning his ability as fast as she could._

_"I'm sorry," she whispered as Stryker dragged her out of the cell._

***

**Chapter three: Memories and Battle Plans...**

"So how did he manage to escape?" Darcy asked, taking a seat next to her long time friend Logan.

The professor looked at the full table with an expression of serenity. "As you know, Stryker was brought aboard by Jean, who suspected that he had more than one base for mutant experimentation. Although she didn't survive the mission, I decided to continue her investigation. However, the need to keep him sedated interfered with my ability to read his mind to get full information. I was working on a new technique when he managed to escape. After viewing the security video, I found it was someone in the mansion who set him free."

His words caused an up cry. Their reaction was expected; everyone held the security of the mansion close to their hearts, their loyalty unquestioned. Ororo's hair whipped furiously as a harsh, cold wind ripped through the room, Scott's fists clenched and unclenched as he muttered under his breath threats that had even Logan's eyebrow arching. Hank growled lowly, his chest vibrating with the sounds while Rogue, Kitty and Piotr gaped at their mentor. Darcy, however, was frozen in her seat with shock as Logan expressed his anger by revealing his adamantium claws.

"The contents of the tape were very troubling and I have decided to conduct the investigation myself," Charles continued, ignoring the protests of the others. "The person who helped in his escape behaved quite unusually and I believe secrecy is needed in this. I will reveal this person's identity on a need to know basis, and only then in a dire emergency. Shall we continue? Logan, if you please." he leaned back into his chair, allowing the aggressive man to have his turn to speak.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Logan shifted in his seat as he began to talk. "I had this dream…well, more like a memory, of the place I escaped from when this was done to me." His claws unsheathed threateningly before disappearing back into his fists. "It was a hidden military base behind a large waterfall. A few years ago, when Darcy was still just a teenager, we drove past this lake that filled up the bottom of a valley, its waterfall closed to tourists. We took a look on the opposite shore anyway. On the top of the waterfall there was a rusty hunk of a door that led into the depths of the mountain."

Taking a deep breath, he plowed on, his tone gruff. "We didn't think anything of it and left. But after that dream, I went back there, climbed the ridge and walked to the door. The old one that we saw had been replaced with a newer and stronger one. Breaking in, I found an underground base. From what I could tell, it had been occupied recently, but the folks had to rush their packing as they left and forgot a whole bunch of files. I didn't think anything of them until one page with Darcy's name on it caught my eye."

"What?" Darcy spoke up, struggling to get over her next shock. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I thought it best to talk to Professor Wheels here first, I had no idea what the gibberish meant." Logan growled back at her sign of aggression.

"Can I see the file?" Hank said, breaking the tension.

"Come by my office a little later on, Hank," the professor replied to his request. "Logan, please continue."

The man nodded and dove back into his tale. "I decided to explore a bit more after finding that and found a doorway that went deeper down, but I couldn't break in. The door was too strong for my claws. Looking around, I noticed an active camera and a key pad by the door."

"Wow, the Great Wolverine was beat by some measly blast doors," Scott sneered.

"If you want a fight, One-eye, I'd be happy to oblige."

"Resorting to threats? Huh, consider me duly intimidated," the other man replied drolly.

"Gentlemen," The professor broke in, "Your continual snipes to each other do not progress us forward."

"So what's the plan?" Rogue asked, her southern accent soothing to those around her. The professor pulled out a file and opened it up, revealing a sketch of a building plan. "From what Logan has described to me, I have created a basic floor plan to help us navigate when we go to the base."

"Why are we going to an obviously empty bunker?" Scott asked.

"If you weren't listening before, bub, there was a section that I couldn't get into," Logan snarled, calming down when Darcy placed a calming hand on his forearm.

"How do you suggest we get in?" Darcy asked quietly. "If Logan is unable to open the door with his claws, we're going to need someone who can convince the key pad to open."

"What type of lock is it, Logan," Ororo asked sweetly.

"Electronic," was his gruff reply. Professor Xavier nodded his head and turned to Darcy.

"There is a student who can talk to electronics," he began, ignoring Darcy's posture stiffening. "I would like you to imprint on his powers and join us in this next mission."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Scott asked. "Both Logan and Darcy have deep connections to this mission that could prove detrimental to us if they decided to go off and search for more memories."

"There is a possibility of Stryker being behind the door, Scott, and it is imperative that we find him again and thwart his plans before he does something that affects the rest of our mutant brethren," the professor countered calmly. "It is also a chance for them to find their past to continue forwards into the future."

"I also found the place, bub," Logan growled viciously defending his right to join them.

"So we're all in agreement then?" Charles offered a reassuring smile to his team. "We'll fly out tomorrow, Hank and I will remain here to watch over the other children, and if you find more mutants in captivity or controlled by that acid Stryker favors, convince them to come back to the mansion for protection. Perhaps we can find out what his plans really are." Finished speaking, he turned and wheeled out of the room, leaving the others behind to discuss battle plans.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry for the wait on this one. Shout out to IcedBlaze, my beta, I'm trying to make this better! Don't own X-men, just my plot line and character and not making any money from this. Also, as a little note, I'm not sure if I made myself clear on a few points. 1. Logan and Darcy aren't together. And 2. Deadpool did not let Stryker loose from the mansion. I said that someone inside the mansion did, as in, an insider did it. And last but not least, 3. There is no Scott/Rogue romance, no matter how much I think they're cute together.**_

_Stryker stood over the small child's prone form. Tubes covered her mouth and nose and an IV hung from her limp hand. The rest of the team had been ordered out for an assassination, leaving him alone with the girl. A triumphant smirk slithered across his lips as he stepped back to allow the doctors to get closer. Heart and blood pressure monitors beeped with regularity. Finally, he could perform the experiment without having his platoon underfoot. His smirk disappeared as he thought about the unintentional interference Wade and James caused. A nurse cleared her throat behind him loudly. Stepping out of the way, he gave the child one more glance._

"_I want her to be under my complete control when I say the code word. The others must not notice anything out of the ordinary," Stryker ordered. "You may commence." The high pitched whir of a drill followed his strides out of the room._

**Chapter Four: Past meets Present (Part one)…**

Darcy stepped gingerly over the slop that covered a log in the middle of her path. The path was barely there, but that didn't matter to much to her. It was the scenery that took her breath away. Long, straight tree trunks loomed above them, their billions of leaves creating a lush canopy. Sunlight barely trickled through, creating magical golden rays where it did. The earth they walked on was rich, a deep luscious brown. Just for the moment, Darcy could pretend that she wasn't going on a life altering mission and was on a hike with friends.

Her luminous blue eyes took in her team members. Their uncomfortable, sweaty faces made her smile. Tight black leather was not as forgiving as her blue cargo pants, hiking boots, and black sweater. Her clothes allowed her body to breath and move with freedom. Glancing at Logan, she let out a laugh. "This is what you get for being a conformist, _Wolverine_," she teased.

He flipped her the bird. "Shut it, you heathen, and keep walking," Logan growled lightly. Grinning at him, Darcy turned her attention back to the path, her footsteps light as she trotted ahead of the rest. The path wandered further, curving around rocks and boulders before arching up an incline.

Suddenly, her fast paced slowed. Darcy's previous confidence about going on this mission faded like sand in a sieve. She glanced down at her hands. Long, delicate fingers trembled in remembrance of her imprinting. God, she hated doing that. To be honest, she really didn't mind what she picked up by hanging around people with talents, but when she forced it…Well, she could understand why Rogue hated her powers. Without touching, Darcy's absorbed talents seeped into her slowly, coming up on her like a warm blanket, but forcing a power? She shuddered. It was like having an alien life form crawling up under her skin, slowly and painfully making its way to her mind where it attacked her viciously, trying to gain control. Shivers arched up her spine. A firm hand took hold of her elbow and pushed her forward.

"No time to chicken out now, bub," Logan said quietly. Looking at him, she was met by his warm, gentle gaze. "No need to fear the past."

**

Darcy looked around the bunker with distaste. The masculine roar of the waterfall echoed deafeningly in the bunker. Pulling out a pair of bright yellow earplugs from her pocket, she slipped them into her ears. Logan gave her a funny look. "What? Do you know how loud Kitty and Jubilee get while talking about boys in the Rec room when I'm trying to mark things? It's good to get into the habit of carrying them around." He gave her a smirk and then turned his attention away from her. Sighing, she looked around again, taking in the various live security cameras scattered around. Despite being above a waterfall, she noticed none of the steady drippings that were usually found around caves. Instead everything was spotless; well, apart from the dust and the papers scattered everywhere. If it weren't for the cameras, she could have sworn the place had been empty and sealed for a long time.

Scott and Rogue wandered around picking up random files and placing them in a pack to take back to the base. Darcy gave a little smile at the blushing, innocent looks Rogue offered the older man. She knew without a doubt that if Logan found out, his reaction would embarrass the younger girl to lengths no one had been to previously. It seemed the young adult was finally growing out of her school girl crush.

The imposing blast doors stood in front of them like a Roman Legionnaire. Her heavy hiking boots crunched over papers as she walked over to the lock. Logan moved to stand protectively over her. The other X-men shifted to do the same. With a humorless smile, Darcy mused that Logan's movements were signal to the others. Chancing another glance at the doors, a sense of foreboding slinked down her spine and settled into a weighty pool in her stomach. Swallowing thickly, she squashed the feeling down forcefully. She had a mission to do, her first with the X-men, and she wasn't going to screw it up.

Calling up the power that she obtained from the student, Darcy prepared for the alien feeling to flow through her veins. With a delicate hand, she touched the pad lightly. Immediately, she was sucked in. Images, information, everything bombarded her at once. Knees buckling, she felt herself falling to the ground. Unknown hands grabbed at her waist, keeping her in contact with the key pad. The knowledge pulsed into her mind and pumped with her heartbeat as she struggled for control. A ragged cry ripped from her throat as she fought for control. Plowing through all the data, she pushed her mind forward, commanding the door to open. There was silence.

_Ba-beep. _

Opening her eyes, Darcy tiredly leaned back into someone's arms. Rolling her head up, she caught the gaze of Scott who looked at her with concern. The blast doors creaked as the lock unraveled. With a reluctant groan, it opened slowly. Adamantium claws tore through Logan's skin as he slipped in first, taking point. Ororo followed him quickly with Piotr. With a tired sigh, she broke away from Scott and followed with the rest.

The interior of the corridor was vastly different to the one before. Here, water dripped steadily down as steam hissed at intervals. They walked forward in single file, quite happy to let Logan lead for the moment. It was slow going as the narrow path they followed sloped downwards. Darcy felt twitchy and a foreign sense of Déjà vu washed over her.

The tingling in her mind that followed after clued her in to what was going on. Her telepathic powers that she had picked up from the professor had activated. Opening the door had also subconsciously opened her mind to her abilities. Stifling another sigh, she attempted to close her mind, unwilling to let an untamed power loose on her teammates.

Logan staggered to the wall, a hand on his head. A flash of pain tore through Darcy. Before she could close her mind, Logan's memory pierced into her. Like a flash of lightening, she could only watch as a naked Logan speed back up the corridor and out into the open, flinging himself off the cliff. Her sight came back to her as she stumbled into Rogue.

The poor girl in front of her tensed at the unwelcome intrusion. Darcy immediately straightened. "Sorry, Rogue, honey," she panted, trying to catch her breath. The other smiled in forgiveness and continued on.

Darcy could have cursed the professor, Logan, _and_ herself for even going on the mission in the first place. So far, despite everything that was going well for the others, she was having a tough time keeping herself in control. With a mental cuss, she reminded herself of her adolescent grasp on her powers.

"Get ready," Logan hissed from the front. Gone was the vulnerable man from before. In his place stood the Wolverine, the fierce warrior she was less familiar with. "Soldiers coming up ahead." Squaring her shoulders, Darcy pulled out a pair of gloves from one of her pockets and put them on quickly. She knew there would be fighting and, as usual, wanted to be prepared. After spending so many years with Logan and his temper in bars, Darcy was well used to being prepared for a brawl. She had control here. A good starting point to get everything else packed away.

Later, when she was asked to describe what happened, all she could say was a controlled frenzy. She didn't have to fight, it was too narrow. Instead, the fighting was left to Logan as the others hid around the corner. It was to their advantage, having a mutant who could not only fight well, but not even be affected by the enemy's attacks. Only a matter of minutes passed before Logan was alone, his claws dripping with his opponents' blood. All around him, the bodies splayed out, dead.

Darcy didn't recognize the man who stood in front of her now. The excited glint in his eyes was frightening. However, like a switch, he turned it off, stood, and sheathed his claws. He was back to the man she knew, back to the man she admired. A sigh of relief sounded from her left. Turning, she saw Rogue staring at him with the same expression she had on her own face.

"Come on," Scott said gravely, "we still have a long way to go."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, new chapter here. Sorry it took a little while. As usual, don't own X-men and I really hope you like this chapter. A shout out to everyone who helped me and IcedBlaze who Beta Read.**

**Chapter five: Past meets Present (Part Two)**

"You know, for an abandoned base, this place sure is busy," Rogue commented as she ducked behind a corner to avoid getting shot. Darcy nodded in agreement. Stepping away from her cover, she flicked her hand and sent a telepathic wave towards the soldiers. Like rag dolls , they flew into the concrete wall. The force knocked them unconscious. Logan growled behind them, miffed that Scott had ordered the two to have a shot instead of letting the Wolverine loose.

"We need to get to a computer console and get Darcy to see if Stryker is still here," Scott said, blasting at the next wave of men. "How much further do you think we have to go?"

"By the way these men are defending that room over there," Logan growled, unsheathing his claws, "I'd say not too far at all." Colossus and Logan took point and helped clear the path, prowling through rapidly, each of them taking down soldiers flawlessly. Logan was an added distraction as bullets hit him and then dropped back out instants later, the man's face twisted with anger.

"Are they even trained?" Darcy muttered, eyeing the soldiers. Considering that they were meant to be qualified to fight against mutants, there seemed to be a lot of them and they didn't seem to have any idea of how to deal with even the simplest unconventional attacks. Colossus snorted at the lack of a challenge, metal skin gleaming like a polished car, circling around behind the soldiers, one after the other, cornering them rapidly and just knocking them out as humanely as he could. Logan seemed to be enjoying a more hands-on approach than him.

Darcy's hands shook as she took in the animal that Logan transformed into. Despite being used to seeing him like that when she was in danger, she never had been exposed to him when Logan unleashed him in the cage fights. It wasn't just that she was seeing more of the animalistic side of Logan, it was the mission and the bad taste it left in her mouth. Darcy couldn't help but think that Stryker was simply letting them walk into the base. It was the thought of getting out that had icy shivers crawling up her spine. "Is it me, or is it a little too easy to get everywhere?" she asked Ororo as they rushed towards the room.

Allowing lightening bolts to dance from her fingertips, the white haired wind goddess shocked another group of soldiers before answering. "Indeed, it does seem to be almost effortless." Darcy nodded and ran forward, her bare hand stretched out towards the keypad. A solider, pretending to be knocked out, swept his leg out, tripping Darcy over. As she fell, Colossus moved to catch her, only to miss by a breath. Her head hit the railing hard.

"_My head hurts," Darcy murmured, burying her head into Wade's stomach. He smoothed her hair back gently, his other rubbing her back. "I don't feel too good."_

"_Do you want to go see the doctor?" Wade asked, lifting her up and tucking her into his bed. "I can get them to come here to see you."_

"_NO!" Darcy leapt up from the bed, her tone fierce and her eyes scared. "No doctors, Wade. They're bad and scary with their cold touches and their hurting toys." _

_He stared down at her, worried. She had never reacted to the medics like that before. In fact, she used to find Karen quite nice. They used to play with the dolls together that he brought back for Darcy when he went out on a mission. Nodding, he pushed her back down on the bed and tucked the covers around her. James knocked lightly at the door. Looking up, Wade nodded at his friend and turned his attention back to his little charge. "Why don't you let Jimmy, here, check you out, Princess?" The six year old nodded somberly and watched the other man approach. _

"_Hey there, Half-pint," Jimmy smiled, sitting down on the bed. "What's up?"_

"_My head hurts and I feel sick in my tummy," she reported quietly. "And I want my Funny Bunny." Wade tried to suppress a laugh as he reached under the bed and pulled out a well-loved stuffed rabbit. _

"_Well, we've solved one problem," Wade said, handing the doll to the girl. "Now, genius, solve the next lot." Jimmy gave him a glare before placing a cool hand on Darcy's forehead._

"Hey, half-pint, wake up." Darcy groaned and opened her eyes. Staring back at her was a pair of concerned brown ones.

"Jimmy?" she asked groggily.

"It's Logan, Bub, not Jimmy," the Wolverine replied, lifting her up to a standing position. On shaky knees, Darcy shifted to lean against the railing, her hand drifting up to her aching head. "You fell into the railing pretty hard, knocked yourself out for a few minutes." Dazed, she nodded and looked around. "Colossus took out that bastard soldier, now all we need you to do is open that door there." She nodded once more and moved up to the keypad.

Her hands trembled harshly as her fingers made contact. This time, she was prepared for the influx of data and quickly disabled the lock. As the door opened, Darcy turned and leaned against the wall. As the others took out the guards and herded the people monitoring the computers, she tried to overcome her headache. Why on earth had she called Logan 'Jimmy'? Pulling Logan's healing ability to the forefront of her mind, she let the alien feeling wash away her pain.

"Oh my god!" Darcy turned her head towards Rogue's voice. Walking in, she saw everyone crowding around a set of monitors.

"What's going on?" She asked quietly.

"There is no way we can transport everyone in the jet," Ororo murmured to Scott.

"We can't leave them," Scott frowned, "there's got to be something we can do!"

Darcy pushed through and glanced at the monitors. She couldn't contain her gasp. Cameras showed dozens of mutants pacing, sitting or sleeping in locked cells. Her fingers touched the screen delicately. "How could anyone do this?" she whispered.

"What about the helicopter pad?" Colossus pointed to one of the screens. "It's obvious that we can't get them to leap over the range like we did to get to the jet. Why not let Darcy tell the helicopter to go to the mansion? If she can't do that, get her to hotwire the one of the trucks?"

"Tin Man has a point, Princess," Wolverine said casually to Scott, his attention on Darcy.


	6. Chapter 6

**Usual disclaimer replies. IcedBlaze kicks ass with her help and Beta reading, PyroQueenofFire, thanks to you too! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, one more in the base and then we can move onto** **the fun stuff!**

**Chapter six: Past meets Presence (part three)…**

The feeling of being under a microscope and a hot light never felt closer to home until then. Darcy took in their hopeful faces and heaved a heavy sigh. There was no way in hell that she could deny Logan and the others. Their need was too great. Turning back to the computer consoles, she watched the prisoners' movements, or rather, their lack thereof. Her eyes caught on one of the men. Bald, shirtless and a hideous scar that left him with no mouth, the man was still captivating. His body was in fine form, long, lean and muscular. Standing in a perfect ready position, his gaze never left the door, as if he was waiting for something to happen.

Rogue moved at her shoulder, her own gaze on another prisoner. He was suave, even in the red jumpsuit and paced quietly, muttering silently at the walls and door. Although there was no sound, both of them could only guess what he was saying. "Can you do it?" She asked, pushing a strand of white hair from her face, "Can you get them out of here?"

Darcy nodded, "Yeah, I think I can. My telepathy is screwing up, but I still know how to hotwire a few cars."

"One truck won't be enough," Logan said gruffly from behind them. "We need another driver."

"I'll do it," Colossus volunteered. "I'll be able to protect Darcy while getting them out of there." Darcy nodded in agreement. The metallic man was a force in and of himself when he had some momentum going. Scott agreed and started to talk to Logan about a battle plan.

"Darcy, you didn't pick up any talent that would make them believe that you're the good guy, did you?" Scott asked, "Cause it looks like these guys will attack anything that they see." Her thoughts shifted to her dreams. Was it possible that they offered her a hidden talent? She shook her head mentally, it was safer to do it a different way, there was a possibility that they were still just dreams, not memories.

"Not that I know of, but I think it would be best to _talk_ to them before releasing them," Darcy stressed with a humorless smile. "As long as I have someone to watch my back, I should be fine."

"I'll go," Rogue volunteered. "If anyone threatens her, I can knock them out."

Scott thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, that's not wise, speed is of the essence as soon as we walk out that door," he pointed to the control room blast doors. "Colossus and Storm would be best; they both have offensive and defensive abilities. We'll wait at the door, take the first twelve guys that can take the hike to the jet and leave the rest for you three in the trucks." He looked at the cameras for a moment. "Go up those stairs, flip a right at the crossroad and follow it up. It looks pretty easy to get there." They nodded seriously. "Darcy, you need to do some fast talking, get them to trust you—by any means necessary."

**

Logan burst the lock with an angry snarl and an adamantium blade. The door snapped open to reveal a corridor of almost impenetrable prison cells. Darcy darted in quickly with Storm and Colossus. Her heart pounded with her footsteps, sweat poured from her neck and down her spine. Nothing had prepared her for this reality. Their noise stirred the prisoners and the symphony of cries, threats and screams hurt her ears through the plugs. A student's ability for a shrill cry floated to her mind and she let out a piercing whistle. Immediately the noise quieted. Taking in a deep breath, she started to talk.

"We're here to rescue you! Any signs of attack will be met with defensive measures! We're mutants and we're going to take you to a safe place where Stryker and his people can't harm you!" She was met with jeers. Darcy threw Ororo a helpless glance before continuing. "We have limited time. I'm going to let you out one at a time now. The first twelve go with men we've stationed outside and the rest with us to the trucks."

This was met with cautious agreements. Darcy moved to the cell door with Colossus.

Colossus went forward to grip the bars and perhaps rip them apart, but Darcy held up a hand, motioning him back. "It's alright. I've got it." Colossus stepped back to give her some room. Darcy touched the lock, focusing back on a student she had imprinted while privately tutoring. Her hands felt the cool surface of the lock under her fingers before the lock warmed.

Darcy's brow knit as she squinted in concentration, closing her eyes for the task. The lock under her fingers grew hotter, but it didn't burn her. Instead, Darcy felt the metal makeup of the lock give way under her touch as it melted to the ground and puddle on the floor. Darcy opened her eyes and glanced down, somewhat surprised to see that it had worked. A throbbing headache pounded at the insides of her mind, but she had little time to focus on that.

The prisoners who had been locked up for God-knew-how-long suddenly realized that they were free. They saw that Darcy hadn't been lying about letting them go. Hastily, the mutants all ignored her command for single file and rushed at the door at once, spotting their freedom within reach. It was like a massive wave tumbling on a small island.

"Everybody stay calm!" Darcy yelled desperately, trying to settle the mass of mutants. She was blatantly ignored as the door was pushed open against her and she fell back. She would have hit the ground, but instead thudded solidly into Colossus' metal chest. Her head throbbed where it had landed against Colossus' organic metal.

Mutants streamed out of the unlocked cell and rushed for the exit in a mad frenzy. Colossus righted her quickly and gave her a slight push so she wouldn't be in the way of the oncoming mutants. Frantic, one of the mutants shoved her aside as he made his way to the door behind Colossus. Darcy's back hit the cell harshly as her head jounced against the bars and made a loud _clang_ noise. Darcy grimaced in pain.

"Enough!" Colossus roared, spreading his arms wide and catching two of the mutants who had progressed further than the rest. He hauled them back and threw them at the group, slowing the progression by causing several to trip and fall. Still, the mutants didn't stop.

Darcy fought to clear her thoughts; she shook her head to clear her somewhat fuzzy vision when an eerily familiar voice called out to her. "Darcy?"

Darcy lifted her head to the voice and her jaw dropped as her throat tightened with disbelief. Calmly stepping out of the cell, ignoring the mass of mutants around him as they streamed for the exit was none other than Zero, the sharpshooter from her dreams.

A shocked sob escaped her throat as he stopped in front of her. Anguished blue eyes stared into calm black ones. Her hand trembled as it reached up to his cheek. "Oh my God, you're real," she said breathlessly. He let out a smug laugh.

"What did you think I was? Just a dream?" Letting out a shaky laugh, Darcy shifted her eyes nervously.

"Darcy!" Colossus called out from the door. "Open the last few cells and we can get out of here!" the taller man's voice was sharp with impatience. Ororo stood at the door, the others already gone with their few men.

Darcy nodded and managed to trail off an, "Open the cells…"

Darcy found her legs unable to move as she stared at the man standing before her, staring at her with those troubled yet familiar eyes of his. Her hand slid off his cheek. The last time that Darcy had seen Zero had been in one of the dreams that Darcy would much rather forget. He couldn't possibly be real…not unless Xavier had been right all along about her thoughts being memories. Darcy had never wanted Xavier to delve further into the idea of her dreams being memories because she didn't want the images running through her mind to be real.

"Zero…" Darcy spoke softly as she tried the name on for size.

"You look a little lost, Darcy." Zero told her, raising an eyebrow and smiling at her ever so slightly. His familiar, self confident quirk of his lips had her spinning around like a globe off its axis.

Darcy swallowed back the confusion and pain she was feeling and flexed her fingers a little, taking a step forward slowly, relieved she could move. Maybe he was simply an illusion—a hallucination. One of the prisoners knocked her in the back, pushing her forward. Zero caught her smoothly, setting her straight. Blushing, she stood back, rubbing her neck self-consciously. "Um, wha-what about the others?"

He pointed over to the other cells. "They're all a bit different to what you remember and, well, Dukes and Bradley...they didn't survive Stryker's testing, I'm sorry," he sounded sincere. Her brow crinkled, his reaction was strange to the Zero she remembered. However, she had only dreamed him occasionally; it wasn't as though she knew him at all.

"Darcy!" Colossus' voice was sharp, breaking her out of her stunned stupor. Quickly, she darted around Zero and placed her hands onto the last few locks. Swallowing thickly, Darcy stared as the men from her dreams walked out, their auras making her feel like they owned the room they were in. In front of her stood John Wraith, his trademark cowboy hat missing, and Victor, who stared at her like a caged beast. With a vicious roar, he pushed past her, knocking down and injuring everyone in his path. Colossus was thrown against a wall as the wild man made his escape, not caring at all about his rescuers.

However, it was the last man that had her in a quandary. The monitor in the control room didn't do his physique justice. He was bald, the familiar sheen of adamantium glinting through the skin over one eye. Vaguely familiar brown eyes stared at her with agonizing sadness that had her aching to make the chocolate orbs smile. The muscular prowess that he oozed as he walked closer made her swallow. Surgical black lines covered his body as tattoos. A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump. Ororo stood there with a soft look. "We need to go, Darcy, time is short."


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey hey! Back again! As you know, standard disclaimer applies. I just want to take the time now and to thank everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it. Thanks to Pyro who helped me with ideas and to IcedBlaze for Beta reading!**

**Chapter Seven: Past Meets Present (Part Four)…**

Colossus burst through the guards like a wrecking ball, scattering them all to the walls. Dazed after the brute strength, the few military personnel that managed to remain standing found themselves at the mercy of the escaping prisoners. Storm and Darcy brought up the rear with resigned sighs. There was no way that they could avoid injuries or even deaths after the torture the people were subjected to.

The men from her past kept a close guard around her, with the bare-chested man with no mouth right up behind her. Still, her mind panicked away from the idea that her dreams were memories. She was terrified of the thought that she actually committed such atrocities. It wasn't who she was, there was no way she was capable of any of it.

The group turned a corner and the heavy blast doors that led to the exit right in front of them. The prisoners let out a celebratory cheer and surged forward for the last stretch. Darcy panted heavily, not used to the continuous stamina needed for such missions. For a brief moment, she panicked; what if she was too tired to get the trucks running? Shaking her head mentally, she banished the thought away. Darcy knew there was no other choice but to get them working, otherwise, they were all in for a hell of a fight to get away.

Bursting through the heavy doors, they were greeted by a blinding flash of sunlight and a firing squad. Everything seemed to slow down for Darcy. Her eyes widened in shock as the guns fired, everyone scattering around her. A thick, muscular arm snaked around her waist, drawing her to a warm chest before the body turned and shielded her from the bullets. For a moment she thought it was Logan, coming back and helping with the other men. That was until she noticed the lack of shirt and the pure warmth that encased her. Logan was cold, thanks to the adamantium skeleton. Looking up, her gaze was caught by the mouth-less man.

_Stay on my ass like a bad smell and keep me between the soldiers and you._

A foreign voice sounded in her head like church bells. "No need to shout, you mouth-less jackass!" she said angrily, holding her head. "That hurts, you know!"

He stared at her stunned, no sign of pain in his eyes as bullets pounded into his flesh. _You can hear me?!_ Darcy gave him an unfriendly stare.

"No, the fairies on the wind just told me to stay on your ass like a bad smell. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to get in the way of bullets?"

_Yes, because bursting through closed doors without knowing what's on the other side is always a smart thing to do_. Sarcasm dripped from his telepathically projected words. Darcy struggled to hide a blush.

"In case you didn't realize," she hissed, "Colossus, the steel man, was in front, not me! And besides, this is my first darned mission!"

"Could you two love birds cool whatever the hell it is that you're doing and start those fucking trucks so we can get out of here?" Zero yelled from a barrel a few feet from them, firing a pistol he had somehow managed to get his hands on. Darcy glanced underneath the man's arm. Mutants all around them were fighting back with ferocity of a cornered tiger.

"Oh for the love of god!" she whined. "I didn't even volunteer for this crap, I was conscripted!" With an angry and tired huff, she pulled away from him and looked around for the trucks. Spotting them near Colossus, she focused her mind towards her friend. _Check to see if the trucks have keys!_ The hulking man nodded towards her and walked over to the military machines, carelessly ignoring the bullets pinging off his body. Peering over the door, he turned and nodded. Darcy sighed, pleased that her job was getting easier. However, the other truck didn't and Zero had run out of bullets.

"STORM!" she shouted to her white haired friend. Ororo turned and looked at her with frustrated patience. "The first truck has keys, I'll take the other one!" the white haired wind goddess nodded and rallied her group of mutants to make a lunge for it. Colossus, noticing the older woman's movements, started to run at the soldiers, drawing their fire towards him and leaving a path open for the others. Darcy sighed enviously. "I wish I had his power."

Her strange mutant looked down at her weirdly. _You fantasize about becoming a great big hulking pile of metal? You have some kinky ideas, princess._ Giving him a filthy glare, she motioned for the remaining mutants. "I need to get these guys into the back of that other truck and time for me to hotwire it. Any ideas, pumpkin?"

_You have any telekinesis?_ She nodded. _Get those two pistols to Zero and get him to protect you while I get the others to the truck. Hope you don't mind dead bodies, Princess, and its Deadpool, not pumpkin._ She stared in shock as two three-foot blades burst out of his hands like Logan's claws. Suddenly, an explosion ripped through the air, knocking out several soldiers. Looking around for the source, she spotted a handsome man in his mid twenties, hefting a rock with a smirk. The rock glowed a bright pink as he threw it towards the men, blowing up upon impact.

_Now that's a fairy,_ Deadpool snorted in her mind. _His kinetic energy is PINK!_ Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Less talking, more action, muscles," she replied, shooing him away with her hands. In response, his finely formed muscles flexed impressively as he stood up, his blades singing murderously as he darted forward with no warning. Mentally shaking her head, Darcy held up her hands, summoning the pistols towards Zero. Darting from her cover, she ran to the dark haired man.

"The arrogant narcissist told me to let you know that we need to get to the truck and I need cover while hotwiring it." He looked at her strangely for a moment before understanding dawned. He quickly checked the pistols and hauled her up, pushing her to the truck and motioning to the other mutants to follow. Quickly, she opened the door and slammed in behind her. The large truck vibrated as the others got into the back and ducked down, not wanting to be caught by a stray bullet flying through the canvas covering. Stooping down behind the enormous steering wheel, she brought up Bobby's freezing power to shatter the panel that covered the wires.

Twenty different wires dropped down, all the same color. "Shit, shit, shit, and shit!" she swore under her breath. The other door opened, startling her. Zero stood there.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She waved off her apology.

"We've got bigger problems." Darcy replied, pointing down to the wires. "I'm too tired to use my abilities, so unless you have a knife about a centimeter wide, we're not going anywhere." He shook his head and then moved up to the curtain.

"Any of you have a small knife?" Most shook their heads until a fourteen year old girl jumped up.

"Will this do?" she held up a butter knife she had swiped from the kitchen. Zero grabbed it and gave the blunt object to Darcy. Looking at it with hopelessness, she sighed.

"Guess it will have to, I've never actually done this with a blunt instrument," she muttered, jamming it into the ignition with as much strength as she could muster. Turning it, the engine spluttered before coming to life. Incredulously, Darcy stared at the wheel in shock. "That shouldn't have worked."

"Who gives a flying fuck? Get us out of here," Zero ordered urgently.

"What about Deadpool?" Darcy threw back.

"He'll catch up!"

A Bamphf sounded in the cabin, startling the two. Casually, Deadpool relaxed between the two, his feet crossed on the dash. _Are we heading off anytime soon, Princess?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey all! I couldn't hold off till tomorrow with this one, Its my favourite chapter! I want to thank Pyro because without her, this chapter would not exist. IcedBlaze rocks with her Betaing, and I hope you all enjoy! Leave a review at the end to tell me what you think!**

**Chapter Eight: Road Ramblings…**

Two military trucks rumbled down the highway, olive green canvas coverings flapping in the wind. In the beds of both sat two groups of under-nourished mutants on their way to a new life. The first truck housed the younger of the prisoners, the ones that had struggled to keep up. A face peered through the divider curtain; Darcy making sure that they were alright. A girl, the youngest at fourteen and the one who offered the butter knife gave her a quietly nervous smile.

"Don't worry," Darcy smiled, "We're taking you somewhere safe, where you can start a new life with no fear." The girl nodded and Darcy turned back, confidently taking off the cruise control and started to steer once more.

_How touching_ came Deadpool's voice in her head. His mental presence fast was becoming a regular visitor in her head. Darcy ignored him, just like the previous times he had intruded. _So it's going to be like that, huh? _He paused for a while, re-crossing his legs on the dash and dismissing Zero's glare as unimportant. Long calloused fingers flicked the butter knife lightly. _Took you long enough to get this hulking beast started. A butter knife__,__P__rincess?_

"Can it, Pumpkin," She hissed, blushing as Zero gave her a curious glance. "I'm a telepath; I'm talking to someone in my mind." Deadpool watched them with amusement before turning his attention back to her.

_I told you the name was Deadpool, Princess. Do I look like a giant round fruit to you?_ Darcy glanced at him from the corner of the eye, looking him up and down studiously.

"Could have fooled me," she replied lightly, navigating a tight turn. The other truck behind them rumbled loudly.

He arched his eyebrow for a moment and seemed to stick up his nose. _At least I'm not an inexperienced snot of a brat who shoved cutlery into an ignition instead of crossing some wires. Why exactly did they bring you along? I didn't see much fighting on your part…_

Darcy's fists clenched on the wheel and she glared at the mouthless man with fury. "Lets get a few things clear, Bub. First of all, I know how to hotwire a car and I am damned good at it, however, the military used same colored wires that would have taken longer to figure out which wires went where and would have gotten us all killed. Second of all, I think it was I who busted you out of your cell, you arrogant bastard, show some grace. And third! I'm not a fighter! I'm a teacher, so shove that sanctimonious crap up your ass." Her breaths were short and sharp, her chest heaving with anger. A strange glint glittered in Deadpool's eye as he watched her.

_Feisty!_ He seemed to smirk, _Good news is that you have spunk, but bad news is that you've neglected to notice I'm not a ballerina, I do ballroom, so grace, not something I naturally possess, a stick up my ass occasionally, well, that's a different story._

Giving him a sarcastic smile, Darcy fluttered her eyelashes at him. "Don't worry, honey, you'll always be a pumpkin to me." His eyes started to laugh at her. _Just keep your eyes on the road, Princess—you're handling precious cargo._ Darcy screamed in frustration, hitting the wheel with the palm of her hand in anger.

"GOD! You're so ANNOYING!"

"Darcy?" Zero asked with concern.

"Its nothing, honey," she bit out. "Just get concerned when I try to kill him."

_Aww! Is Princess getting upset? Maybe she should have thought about that before playing with the big boys?_ Deadpool had the audacity to wink at her mounting anger. With a fierce jerk of the wheel, Darcy pulled the truck to the side of the road, tires screeching loudly. The people in the back complained loudly at the sudden movement. The truck behind them zoomed forward, their tires smoking as they slammed on the breaks.

"Trust me, honey, I can handle the big boys, it's the little boys with illusions of grandeur that piss me off the most." Darcy hissed. A knock on the window caused her to jump. Storm stood on the other side, the image of concern. The truck rumbled idly as she rolled down her window. "Hey Storm."

"Is everything alright here?"

"If he doesn't change trucks," Darcy reported pleasantly, pointing to Deadpool, "I'm going to go homicidal."

Storm gave her a half hearted glare. "We don't have time to deal with this, Darcy; we need to get them back to the mansion. Buck it up," she said meaningfully, walking back to her own truck and taking the lead. A flush stole up Darcy's cheek and she avoided the gazes of the two men beside her. Zero sighed lightly and stared out the window, offering no insightful comments. She rested her head on the steering wheel, praying to find the control to block out the large bald man.

_Well, it's obvious who wears the pants in the group, and Princess? It isn't you. How about we get back on the road now, huh?_

"Someone kill me now," Darcy begged the world quietly.

Deadpool looked out the windscreen with a politely interested look. _I think—I don't know for sure—we're still on the side of the road._ Darcy's control snapped. Whirling around, she slapped him twice.

"Asshole," she swore, putting the truck in gear and got back on the road. The other truck was far ahead of them and she planted her foot down on the accelerator to catch up. Deadpool's shoulders shook with silent laughter.

_You have to admit, Princess, my comedic timing on that was perfect!_

Darcy, afraid that she would have cried, burst into incredulous laughter. "Christ, you don't give up, do you?"

_Nope—its one of my best qualities. _

Darcy waited a beat. "You have good qualities?" She asked in surprise. Zero let out a bark of laughter. Even though he only caught half the conversation, he couldn't help but find the argument beside him entertaining.

_You're just jealous and you have no sense of humor_, Deadpool replied smugly, his had reaching out and ruffling her hair. She pushed his hand away and stared at him, indignant.

"I do too have a sense of humor!" A yawn broke her next sentence. "God I'm tired!"

_Yeah, _he replied sarcastically, _fighting can take it out on a person, especially those who fight more than others._ Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Yes, well, its not exactly in my career description about getting shot at, as I said before, I'm a teacher, not a soldier, so this is more than a little exhausting for me." His eyes narrowed. Taking his feet off the dash, he leaned in close, his nose almost touching her cheek.

_Maybe you should have stayed behind to grade some papers, then, and let a more experienced professional accompany the others to a dangerous place._ Telepathically, she steered the truck so that she could look straight into his eyes, her voice steady and serious. "The only other person that was qualified for my position was a thirteen year old boy. And my duty is to make sure that my students are safe. So, yeah, I may not be qualified, but I was the best candidate available. Not to mention I have a personal stake in all of this. I didn't volunteer, my abilities chose for me." They were so close, her lips barely an inch from the smooth skin that replaced his mouth.

The truck hit the gravel beside the road. Turning her attention back to the road, she stayed silent, driving on for a few more miles. Deadpool remained in his position, staring at her, curious, calculating. It sent the hairs up on her neck and her back fought against the tension her muscles tried to force on her. _They chose, did they?_ Deadpool asked with a hint of scorn, _what abilities do you possess that made you a candidate for this?_

Darcy sighed, the other truck finally in view. "I'm a mimic; I learn other mutants' powers. Some abilities have time limits on how long I can use them, some don't. I had his power imprint into my genetic code to help you get out of there."

The large man beside her nodded, taking in her words before replying cheekily, _so in other words, you don't really have your own power then? I mean not in a literal sense._ Darcy turned to face him quickly.

"You know, I think I hate you."

_I wish I could say the feeling was mutual, Princess, but your buttons are way too much fun to push._ He gave her a sly wink. She let out a bark of laughter.

"What the hell did I do in a past life to deserve your company?"

_Whatever it was, I applaud you—I'm the best present a girl could have._

Darcy tried to quiet her mirth. "I'm not sure you could be man enough for me."

_Trust me…I'm man enough for everyone, but if you have your doubts, put me into practice._ Staring at him in shock, her lips turned upwards into a sultry smirk.

"I'm sure I could, but then that begs the question: Perhaps I'm too much of a woman for you."

_I haven't met a woman that I couldn't handle…the challenge could be fun, Princess._

"You're going to have to work for it, honey. I'm not that easy," she warned him lightly.

_Oh, I really don't think you are—there are few who can last this long in a battle of the tongues with me._ Deadpool's voice was low and husky in her mind, sending a shiver up her spine. Her mouth turned up into a grin.

"To be able to use your tongue, sugar, you need to have a mouth…but thank you; I'm quite good at arguing with maturely stunted boys." He flopped back into his seat, jostling Zero out of his stunned state. With exaggerated swagger, he propped his feet back up on the dash, his brow furrowed as he tried to think of a comeback.

_I make up for my mouth in other areas…and for the record, maturity is overrated._ Darcy let out a small laugh.

"I look forward to seeing your _talents_," she teased. Ahead of them, Storm's truck turned onto the New York exit. Glad that she was almost home, she steered the truck to follow the other. Strangely enough, Deadpool was silent in her mind, the only noise was the low talking from the truck bed and the truck's own rumble.


	9. Chapter 9

**Want to say thank you to IcedBlaze, my Beta Reader, and My awesome friend who I'm dedicating the next few chapters to, PyroQueenofFire, who's been my muse, my goddess, my friend and my co-writer with several stories, So thanks babe, you rock!**

**Chapter Nine: Home Sweet Home…**

Darcy paced up and down the alcove, waiting impatiently. The professor had whisked away her annoying bald pumpkin as soon as they arrived at the mansion. Although curious, Storm had managed to halt her pacing long enough for her to set up his room next to her own, despite the many arguments she had put forth. But to be perfectly honest, although he was an annoying prick, he _had_ saved her life and seemed to enjoy her presence. And it helped that he was easy on the eyes, apart from the whole lack-of-mouth situation. She vaguely wondered how he managed to eat and maintain his impressive physique.

He was the same height as Logan, give or take an inch, a lot taller than her at least, but then again, most people were. It was a feeling she liked, surrounded by people big enough to protect her when things got hairy. Her mind turned to the two trucks outside. She had to admit, they had character. Perhaps she could convince the professor to keep them instead of abandoning them like the last few times Logan had _appropriated_ other people's belongings. Sighing, she walked to a chair and slouched into it. The seats themselves reminded her of when she was in detention. Her discomfort was almost unbearable. Footsteps bounded down the stairs, revealing Rogue. A bright smile graced her face when she saw Darcy and she threw herself into the seat behind her.

"Hi!"

"Hey honey, get back alright?" Darcy asked tiredly.

"Yeah, we kept close until you got into the trucks before coming back here. Logan wasn't too happy about going with the plane while you were in another direction." Darcy smiled at the girl. Rogue was like a sister to her, with Logan as their common link. Rogue never saw him as a father figure, more like an awesome uncle/hero, unlike Darcy, who had grown up with him since before she could remember. "I heard that you had a bit of an issue with one of the mutants we brought back," the quiet girl mentioned casually, blatantly curious.

"Yeah, he doesn't have a mouth so we spoke telepathically. He's a bit of a smart ass, and, despite the fact that he really knows how to push my buttons, I kind of like him. He's not boring, to say the least. Storm kind of arrived into the middle of our banter and told me to pretty much swallow some concrete and harden up."

Rogue giggled. "I have to admit, your talents are wasted on the youth of today."

"I wouldn't be so sure that I've advanced yet, honey, this guy has the maturity of a five year old that has an advanced vocabulary."

"So what are you going to do? Ignore him?"

"Hell no, I haven't had this much fun in a while." Darcy blushed and looked around to see if anyone was listening before moving close to Rogue. "I may have set up an interesting challenge with him, though."

"Ooh! Do tell!"

"Well, towards the end of our conversation, it got a little racy, more innuendoes than anything else, but, I dunno, there's something about him that sends my blood pumping." Rogue snickered at her.

"I heard Storm assigned him next door to you," the younger girl gossiped.

"Yeah, I had to steal some clothes from Logan for the poor guy, all he has are those ugly maroon pants."

"What did Logan say?" Darcy flinched and tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Well, I didn't exactly tell him. They were the nice clothes that I forced him to buy a while ago and he's never worn them. Some even still had the tags left there." Rogue let out a laugh.

"So what are you doing now?"

"Waiting for Deadpool to come out of the office so that I can take him his room then I can finally get some sleep."

"Deadpool? What a weird name," Rogue commented dryly, tugging her gloved up her elbows.

"That's what I thought, but—whatever." Darcy shrugged lightly, fishing around mentally for another topic. "So what do you think of the new mutants?"

Rogue suddenly went shy and shifty. Wanting to pry answers from the girl, Darcy nudged her shoulder lightly, making sure to keep a layer of cloth between their skin. "Well…there was one of them that caught my eye. He's a real pretty boy with confidence to match. Seems like he's from New Orleans or something with that French accent of his," Rogue mumbled, blushing. "He's so different to Bobby, more manly."

"You're maturing in your tastes, honey. Bobby simply wasn't able to keep up with you and cope with everything."

"I know, I just-"

"Wish everything could be how you wanted it to be, I know that one well," Darcy nodded.

"Yeah, anyway, I need to help with dinner. Logan's looking for you, by the way, want me to tell him where you are if I see him?" Rogue offered kindly.

"Yeah, thanks honey. I'll be here waiting for Deadpool, if not here then at my room catching some sleep. Somehow, I don't think nightmares will bother me much tonight." Rogue smiled and got up, waving as she walked towards the kitchens. Darcy waited again, nothing distracting her anymore. Irritated at how long it was taking, she began to tap her foot against the coffee table leg.

"You know, that can get annoying real quick, bub," Logan said from his position on a post.

"Hey," Darcy smiled welcomingly. "How long have you been there for?"

"Heard most of your conversation with the Kid. Sounds like I have two asses to kick," Logan said wryly, coming down to sit next to her. "You never were very patient," he remarked quietly, nodding to her still tapping foot.

"I just want to get to bed and the professor is taking his sweet time with Deadpool."

"If he pisses you off, hit him," Logan said sagely, like he offered the most important advice in the world. Darcy let out a bark of laughter.

"You're the one who taught me the kidney punches, so I think I should be alright," she replied cheekily. Logan's next words were cut off when the office door burst open.

Deadpool stalked out of the room, his expression tense and stressesd. Fists clenched, he waited for Darcy to stand up, not even glancing at Logan. Knowing that it wasn't the best time to ask questions, she stood up and looked over to the other man, offering an apologetic smile. Logan nodded and Darcy grabbed the mouth-less man's wrist, lightly leading him away from the office.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly, not wanting to cause a scene.

_Does he always treat people with that righteous attitude? Its like he has no respect for assassins, I kill people for the highest price, I don't kill willy nilly. _He sighed, his body tense._ I know this is a school, and I know there is a time and place for what I do, but I don't like being treated with the third degree._ Impulsively, she gave him a quick hug before pulling away with a blush. _Whoa, Princess, I didn't think we were starting the challenge this early._

"Got you off being irritated, didn't it?" She returned lightly, ignoring the light flush on her cheeks. His eyes seemed to smile at her. "What did the Professor say?"

_A lecture on what my behavior should be like here. Not like I have a mind of my own and actual common sense to keep kids away from my kind of lifestyle. I'm not a mindless killer, I do actually have a clue on how to act around different groups of people. I'm adaptable, flexible and talented…feel free to sample me at anytime._ He winked at her, causing her to giggle, too tired to yell at him or hit him.

"I know you're not a mindless killer," she soothed gently. "You're an arrogant prick, but not that." He gave her a piercing look. "The professor, he just has a duty of care and, to be honest, we don't know all that much about you. However, this is a safe place for all mutants and you're one of us." He looked at her for a while, not saying anything. With a silent huff, he nodded and walked forward.

_So where __to__, Princess? _He asked her, his tone a little nicer.

"Well, I'm showing you your room, then going next door to mine to crash for the night," she said quietly, grabbing his hand and pulling him down a corridor.

_Next door to your room? Change your mind and going to make it easy for me, babe? _She hit his arm lightly, not bothering to dignify him with a remark. Coming to a door, she pulled out a key from her pocket and put it into the lock. Opening the door, she revealed a room just like her own, dark wood paneling, thick opulent curtains, a large bedroom suite and a door leading to a bathroom.

"Here we are," Darcy said cheerfully, "I haven't had the time to duck out and buy you some clothes, but you're about the same size as Logan so I filched some of his that I bought him a while ago that he never wears," she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a drawer half way filled with shirts. Suddenly he was by her side, stroking her hair and pulling her close. "Uh, Deadpool?"

_Thanks Princess, this is…more than I expected. _Her mind flashed back to the damp horrid cells she had seen them occupy. Suddenly she could understand his one-eighty mood swings. His tone changed suddenly, back to his joking self._ You know, if you want me to repay you, just let me know, I promise to make my appreciation shown._ Darcy rolled her eyes and pulled away.

"You're lucky that I'm not stirred to the point of murder again, Pumpkin," she pointed to the left hand wall. "If you need anything, I'm right there, just knock on the door or something. I'm really tired, so I'm just going to have a shower and crash." Darcy walked towards the door

_Princess…_ she turned and looked at him curiously. _Thanks._


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all, Again this is dedicated to PyroQueenofFire, who has been my "Beacon of Light" recently. She's an absolute angel! Thanks to IcedBlaze for beta-ing, I want to say thanks for helping me out with those plot holes you pointed out to me. **

**For my Lovely reviewers!!! Just because I adore you guys so much, here is another chapter for you, and two more are coming, they're just in their last stage of completion! **

**Standard Disclaimer applies. Don't forget to review!**

**Chapter Ten: Movie Confessions**

Darcy yawned as she walked into her room. The day had been more than enough for her. Pulling off her black sweater, she dumped it into the hamper and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her feet pounded like an English military tattoo. Reaching down to untie her boots, she groaned lightly, the muscles in her back complaining at her movement. All the adrenaline that had been pumping through her veins earlier today had disappeared like a stick in a river. Trembling hands managed to undo the laces and pull of the heavy shoes. Slowly, feeling like an old woman, she stood and carefully took off her belt and pants, leaving her standing in the room in her black underwear. A nice hot shower was in order. Grabbing the robe off her computer desk, she walked into the bathroom, not at all interested in thinking.

However, the mind always had other plans. Turning the shower on and shucking the last of her clothes, her mind flashed back to the hug she had received from Deadpool. His touch was so warm and gentle with her, a complete swing from the humorously biting banter they shared. The bathroom started to steam up and Darcy got into the shower, turning on the cold tap a little for a more ideal temperature. The truth of the matter was that he had done more for her than a stranger would have to, saving her life, keeping her on her toes and her adrenaline pumping. Putting her head back, she let the hot water pound through her pores soothingly.

Her mind took another turn on her current favorite subject. His propositions were outrageous and flattering and the more she thought on it, the more she started to seriously consider it. The lack of mouth was highly disconcerting, but when taken into the bigger picture, a guy didn't necessarily need a mouth to perform the act. A blush rose up on her cheeks as she heard the shower opposite her start up. Images flashed through her mind, his muscular body all wet and soapy. She let out an almost inaudible groan. There was no doubt about it, she was insane! Most women would find him confronting and unappealing and here she was drooling over the thought of water sleuthing over his body.

And it wasn't as if he had been smooth with her either. All they'd done was argue and act out her homicidal feelings. But she couldn't help herself, he was so hypnotizing. Her eyes softened when she remembered him using his own body to save her. And the sadness his eyes held when he got out of that cell. Sighing, she finished her shower, exhausted from thinking.

Walking back into her room, she dried off with a towel. Grabbing a pair of blue boy short panties, she shimmied herself into them and then pulled her green silk pajama pants and black camisole. Turning on her lamp to add a little more light, she grabbed her glasses from the bedside table and the latest assignments from her students before settling into the bed with a red pen. She was thankful that they had study and revision periods rather than classes due to the exams they had the next week. It gave her time to properly look over the musical notes and musical history notes.

Immersed into her marking, she vaguely noted the shower in the next room turning off and the movements of Deadpool settling in. Barely seven in the evening, Darcy just wanted to finish the assignments and relax. Absently, she picked up a remote from her bed and switched it on, the stereo coming to life and soon the soft tunes of her favorite classical music floated through the air.

_So what's the deal now, Sweetheart?_ Darcy let out an undignified squeak of surprise as Deadpool's voice slithered into her mind. Letting out a frustrated sigh as her thoughts of him came rushing back, she put down her marking.

"What do you mean, Deadpool?" she asked quietly, tucking her glasses up on her forehead and rubbing her eyes. _I was simply wondering as to what there is to do around here, considering I'm not in the mood to turn in._ Darcy rolled her eyes, knowing that if he didn't have something to do she was going to be in for a very long night. Her eyes roved around her room before settling onto her television.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," she muttered to herself. "Come over here and we can watch a movie or something, I'm too tired to do anything else." It was quiet for a while, and Darcy wasn't sure he got her last comment. Suddenly his voice echoed in her head with shock and glee and something else she wasn't too sure on.

_Really? Over to _your _room….on our own? You don't have to tell me twice._ Darcy jumped a mile when he phased into her room, dressed in only a pair of blue pajama pants and nothing else. A giggle escaped her throat when she took in his bright eyes.

"Hey Pumpkin," she greeted, stifling a yawn before flicking her glasses back over her eyes. "You get to pick the movie." He looked at her exasperated.

_God! I'm not a pumpkin!_ Darcy stared at him shocked, and slightly frightened. Taking note of her expression, his tone in her mind grew softer. _Sorry. Um, what choices do I have? I'm really not…I don't…I haven't seen anything in a while._ Darcy gave him a soft look before sitting up with a groan.

"Well, depends on what you like, I'm a James Bond fan, myself," she walked over to the television and opened a cupboard below it, revealing a stack of DVD's. "I love action, explosions and espionage or musicals." Deadpool shrugged at her.

_Anything's better than silence or classical music_. Darcy gave him a playful glare before picking up _Octopussy._ "I'll agree with the silence thing, but don't knock my music tastes." She knelt down and turned on the TV and DVD player. "I'll set it up for us, make yourself comfortable on the bed." He picked up her marking and set it on her beside table before making himself comfortable on her usual side.

_Cushy__…_he paused, bouncing on the bed a little. _You know, you're a lot more accommodating than before…I'm easier on the eyes now, huh? Less __distraction__ from my lovely assets_? He posed as Darcy blushed, turning her face away from him, not noticing him wiggling his eyebrows seductively. She let out a giggle and walked over to the bed, picking up the stereo remote and turning off the music, letting the James Bond theme song play without competing. Feeling a little confessional, she replied cheerfully.

"I'm tired and that automatically makes me nicer, plus, when I have someone around, I don't have nightmares," she shrugged then let out an easy grin. "Helps that you're easy on the eyes." His eyes smiled at her as his hand reached over and grabbed her wrist, pulling her onto the bed with him.

_I should make it a point to annoy you when you're tired then—I'll easily win arguments…and I guess you're not half bad yourself._ Shrugging, his eyes focused on the TV screen. Darcy smiled and decided to change the subject. After all, it seemed that was the closest thing she could get as a compliment from him.

"How are you coping with the change of location?"

_I'm fine. I've never stayed in one place for too long, so __it's__ simply another place to stop off at._ Darcy couldn't explain away the painful pressure in her chest from his words. Her eyes prickled for a moment and she couldn't squash down the hurting anger at the cavalier attitude he took after all her efforts to rescue him. She turned her head and looked at him a little sadly. His eyes seemed to narrow in on her own.

"You wouldn't stay here? I mean, this is probably the most protected place a mutant can be and the professor, well, he'll help anyone in any way he can." Her voice seemed a little pleading and petulant to her and she blushed and ducked her head, pressing play on the movie. Like penetrating lasers, his eyes seemed to bore into her own and into her mind. He sighed, turning his attention to the movie.

_It's a kind gesture, but I doubt when the kids here __actually__ see me__, __they'll be too keen on me staying—Zero__,__ at least__,__ is still completely intact._ Darcy clenched her jaw.

"Some mutants here have blue or green skin, fur, or scales, you not having a mouth won't cause much of a stir. And besides, if I had the right ability, Hank and I could probably help you, give you your mouth back and reverse some of Stryker's experimentation."

He turned back to her, his eyes smiling teasingly. _Princess…are you trying to tell me that you WANT me to stay?_ Darcy blushed and ducked her head, stuttering her reply.

"Well…uh…I find you….entertaining, and…uh…well, you keep me on my toes…" she trailed off, not sure what to say. Taking in a deep breath, she decided to be completely honest. "I guess I do want you to stick around for a while."

Deadpool seemed to mull over her words for a moment then seemingly come to a decision. _Well, considering it _is_ hard to find good company, and I don't want to train someone else to banter with me, I guess I can stay around for a while…but only for a little while. _Darcy hid a small smile. _W__ho's this Hank fellow anyway?_

"Hank is a doctor," Darcy replied happily, knowing, for the moment, that Deadpool wasn't going to sneak away like a thief in the night. "He's also the mutant liaison in the White House. He's a teddy bear and a genius." Deadpool's brow rose at her praise.

_And you think Doc Teddy Bear is genius enough to undo what Stryker did?_ Darcy nodded enthusiastically. Her hair fell into her eyes and she brushed it away impatiently before grabbing a hair tie off the bed and pulling it up roughly. Deadpool watched her motions intently, tucking a tendril of hair behind her ear when it fell into her eyes. She blushed and ducked her head, looking shyly at him through her long lashes.

"I put my complete faith in him and his ability. Yes, with him and me focusing, I do think we can reverse most, if not all. All you have to do is trust me. Do you?"

_Do I trust you?_ He paused, thinking the question over. _You haven't given me a reason to doubt you_, he replied finally, not willing to commit to anything.

Darcy nodded happily, accepting his words for what they were. "Fair enough." She rose up on her knees to look at him, an excited gleam in her eye. "Would you let us? Give you back your hair, mouth? And your abilities, would you want to keep them or go back to what you had?" He seemed to smile at her enthusiasm. Reaching out again, he stroked her hair with a distracted air.

_You've got me there, Princess—I'd do practically anything to get my mouth back, and as fetching as I look bald, my hair was awesome…_he looked at her fondly. _I'm willing to let you try, babe._ Darcy leaned over and gave him an impulsive hug, forgetting that she wasn't wearing a bra and was probably giving him an eyeful.

"Thank you, Deadpool," she said happily, moving back to her knees. "What about your powers?"

He held up his hands, his brow crinkling into a frown. Darcy looked closely at where his lips should have been and saw a faint outline. _Once, I was unstoppable, one of the best mercenaries there was. I had two Katana's, my babies. Sure they were a little bulky, tough to get on a plane, but they were memorable. Now, all I have are these __bastardized__ blades that shoot out of my arms. I don't have the range or the maneuverability that I once had. Get these horrid things out of my arms and my swords back, and I'll do whatever you want, Princess, I promise._ Darcy nodded solemnly.

"What about the powers Stryker gave you? Do you want to keep them?"

_Honestly, as long as I can be somewhat normal, I'm willing to live with whatever you and Teddy Bear Doc leave me with…though extra powers are always nice, especially this phasing ability. Maybe I can catch you while you're showering._

Darcy hit his arm lightly. "You perv. I'll make sure you get what you want, no obligations," she touched his hand and turned her attention back to the movie, laughing at something the character said. Deadpool looked at her for a moment longer dropped his eyes down at their joined hands. Nodding, he followed her gaze to the TV screen. _Thanks Princess._


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey all, told you that I had another chapter coming soon. Again the dedication goes to Pyro, who is my superhero! IcedBlaze kicks A! thanks for helping me, honey. I hope that you all enjoy it and please, leave a review, they're always fantastic to read and really do help the writing process!**

**Chapter 11: Midnight Conversations…**

The room was dark, lit only by the DVD's looping title. Cuddled into Deadpool's snoozing side, Darcy slowly awoke. Yawning, she noted that somehow her companion figured out where the mute button on the remote was and switched off all the lights. Blushing, she realized that instead of going back to his own room, he opted to sleep next to her. Hair tickled her neck, and she reached up and pushed it away, her hair band nowhere to be seen. A soft smile crossed her lips as she vaguely remembered him loosening her tie and brushing his fingers through her hair as she dozed, sending her further into sleep.

Looking at his face, she noted how peaceful he seemed. Her hand touched his cheek softly before reaching over to the bedside table for her glasses and the remote. Her smart mutant obviously didn't realize the red button was the power off. Sighing, she settled back into his arms to try and get to sleep, but sleep was elusive. Her eyes fell on the orange bottle of pills as she contemplated taking one, just to slip into the arms of Morpheus. At this point, she didn't care if she had nightmares, she just wanted to sleep.

Deciding against the pills, mainly for the heavy lethargic feeling and the headache she would have the next day, Darcy decided on plan B, Logan. Like every time she had a nightmare, she knew that her father figure would not deny her some dreamless sleep, even if it meant sleeping in his arms. Deadpool wouldn't wake for some time, she mused, and she could always set Logan's alarm to sneak back in.

Slowly, she slipped out of the man's arms and out of the blankets, grabbing her old terry cloth robe and wrapping it tightly around her. Silently, she opened her door and walked down the corridor, her bare feet barely making a noise. Logan's room was only a couple of doors down and the rooms between them empty. Quietly, she opened the door and snuck inside, vaguely making out the lump on the bed.

"Are you awake?" she whispered, hoping that he had noticed her coming in. A grunt was her response as the figure rolled over.

"I am now," Logan growled, turning on the lamp beside him. "Are you aware of what time it is?" The red glowing numbers showed barely three in the morning. Darcy winced, knowing that it was probably a bad time to wake him.

"Sorry, Logan," she apologized, wincing. Logan sighed and pulled his blanket back in invitation. Quickly, she shucked off her robe and slipped into the bed, already kind of missing the warmth that Deadpool had. Although Logan had his own body heat, it was nothing compared to her companion's furnace. Logan took in a deep breath as she rested her head on his chest.

"You and Mouthless seem close…you sure you want to get into that?" his voice rumbled out of his chest.

"What do you mean?" she asked tiredly, not wanting any word games.

"I can smell him on you, Kid, you sure you wanna get into that mess?" Logan's arms wrapped around her comfortingly. Although reluctant, she sat up, her ire rising.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked heatedly.

"I'm just saying," he replied defensively, "Speaking as a former runner, it's easier to skip out than it is to settle in."

"Logan, I was right there with you, remember? I know that," she said softly, lying back down again. Darcy was touched at his concern. "Besides, I just feel sorry for the guy, look at him. I can't help but want to help him." Logan gave her a squeeze.

"I know—you have a habit of getting attached and lending a hand where you can…What if he _doesn't_ get attached back?"

"Then he'll leave and I'll get over it." Neither believed her words. She would be devastated if Deadpool left. Logan stroked her hair lovingly, his movements very similar to the man she left in her room. Her Wolverine grumbled for a moment, trying to find the right words.

"I just…you know that…" he pulled her close, "You deserve to be happy," he said finally, keeping simple. "After that bullshit with Ricky, well…" He didn't have to say any more. Remembering the hell she went through still brought tears to her eyes.

"Thanks Logan," she sniffled before leaning up and kissing his cheek. "I need to kiss a few toads before I find my prince." Logan waited a few beats before replying sardonically.

"I guess, in all fairness, Mouthless kind of looks like a toad." Darcy giggled.

"I'm going to talk to Hank about helping me fix him," she said after a while, taking comfort from her father figure.

"I'd like to see Fur Ball try, so I'm reserving front row seats so I can point and laugh."

Darcy hit his chest. "No! You can't make a mockery of someone's pain…Unless it's a guy who just got kicked in the balls."

"Well, I'd laugh if some poor shmuck was popped in the jewels—didn't think I needed permission for laughing then," he joked, ruffling her hair. Darcy pouted for a moment then let out a laugh. The comment was so much like her new friend, causing a pang when she realized that he didn't know where she was. Already she missed Deadpool and was thinking of ways to go back into her room.

"You know," she said thoughtfully, "Despite him being an arrogant prick who couldn't find his own balls with a microscope, Deadpool's actually a really funny guy." Logan frowned.

"He's funny, huh? How would you know that? The guy doesn't have a mouth. Funny-LOOKING, yes…" He trailed off. Darcy shifted guiltily.

"Oh…um…not quite like that," she squeaked. Logan looked down at her with a brow raised.

"Come on and tell me already, I've known you long enough to know when you're hiding something…I'll try not to judge," he cajoled.

Darcy hesitated before jumping in, speaking quickly, "Um, well, you see…the thing is…He and I talk telepathically, which is annoying because I try to block him out, but I can't and he talks to me whenever he wants and I almost killed him on the way here from the base, and I'm sorry for not telling and…and…and…" she took a deep breath, pausing for the moment. Not wanting to be caught up in another spiel, Logan jumped in.

"Ok, ok, ok, slow down, honey…You can talk telepathically, and so you're forced to deal with him?" He questioned. Darcy made an unsure sound, wondering whether it was a good time to reveal the root of her problem or not.

"Well, I wouldn't say forced… but to be honest, yes. I've tried blocking him out, it just doesn't work. And I don't have the professor's ability anymore either; I haven't spent enough time with him to make the imprint permanent." She sighed. "I just don't know what the hell is going on."

"You know how I feel about all of this invasion of privacy stuff," Logan growled, "But I think you should talk to Wheels about it if you really want it to stop. You know…unless you…._don't_ want it to stop…" he trailed off, waiting for her answer.

Sitting up, Darcy rested her head against her knee and looked at Logan, giving his question a lot of thought. "I don't think I want it to stop, I mean, the guy really hasn't had someone to talk to for so long and to be honest, I kind of like the idea around it." Logan sat up with her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"You can help him if you want to…just promise you'll be careful though? Telepathic links are tricky…and if he hurts you…his ass is toast," he said simply, giving her a smile. Darcy laughed and gave him a hug.

"You know, at times, it's nice to have my honor so ardently protected."

Logan smiled and replied, "I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one around here that would make him wish he'd never been born if he steps out of line." Logan paused for an instant before changing the subject once again. "When are you going to talk to Fur Ball?"

"Around lunch, I think, I've got a lot of marking to do and at eleven I have my first hour of office hours," she reported lightly. Logan nodded and decided to say one more thing.

"I trust that you know what you're doing. Do you want to sleep in here for another few hours before we have to get up? I'll only be a _little_ offended if you go back to your toad," he gave her another hug and kissed the side of her head. Darcy let out another giggle and shook her head.

"I better go back; he doesn't know that I've gone." She slipped out of the bed and wrapped her robe around her again.

"Alright…be careful, and physical violence works if he steps out of line—just letting you know," he grinned happily at the thought of anyone in a little pain.

"You've taught me well," she replied with a smile, "Especially with those kidney punches." She leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. "Thanks, my Superhero." He nodded and watched her slip out with a shake of his head.


	12. Chapter 12

**OK, this chapter isn't for the faint hearted, so, if you aren't over sixteen, please ignore this chapter. I've also changed the rating of this story to an M. This is a lemon, so you have been warned. Thanks to IcedBlaze, my beta reader, who is truly amazing and this chapter is dedicating to Pyro again. Hope you all enjoy this and please, don't forget to review. Standard Disclaimer applies.**

**Chapter 12: Pillow Talk…**

Hastily, she made her way back into the room, careful to be quiet. Deadpool didn't stir as she closed the door and slipped out of her robe. Silently, she stared at him, taking the chance to study him through the moonlight from her window. His back was corded muscle, and their shifting play had her shivering in delight. The strength and grace those muscles had caught her in awe. It was like the fascination she had with Wade in her dreams. They were so similar, Deadpool and Wade, with the only differences being one had hair and a mouth and was a figment of her imagination, and the other was there in front of her, lying on his side.

Subtly, she slipped into the blankets and cuddled against his back, slipping her cold feet between his warm legs. His hot body heat warmed her up immediately and she sighed happily, slipping her delicate hand over his waist and settling it near his belly button. Abruptly, he shifted and turned, facing her, and snuggled back.

_Anyone ever tell you that when you leave, you take the warmth with you?_ Darcy gasped in surprise and looked up at him innocently.

"Um, that would be a no," she squeaked, a hot flush rising up her cheeks.

_Well, you do, Princess._ His voice rumbled in her mind like a sleepy tiger. Gently, he pulled her closer so that there was no space between their bodies. Darcy relaxed in his arms, ignoring the small voice in her mind telling her it was too soon to be so comfortable in his arms.

"You're cuddlier than Logan," she mentioned, her words muffled by his chest. Deadpool looked down at her, his brow rising.

_I'm going to take that as a compliment and forget you mentioned some other guy…You're actually quite cuddly, yourself._ He stroked her hair lovingly, making her force the reaction to arch and preen into his touch. Already he was stirring the attraction that she tried so hard to dampen.

"Don't worry, Pumpkin, it's all a compliment," she giggled lightly, not at all feeling like going back to sleep anymore. Deadpool's touch had her heating up in other ways.

_You know,_ he said lightly, _I'm starting to think you like me…even though you have the idea that I'm orange and fruity._ His hand came to rest on the nape of her neck and his thumb reached out to stroke her jaw.

"A pumpkin is a vegetable," she replied, turning her chin towards his hand instinctively. "And besides, I do like you, despite the homicidal urges your stir up." His hand cupped her cheek, thumb running along her bottom lip gently.

_Fruit, vegetable, same difference,_ Deadpool shrugged._ You're not so bad yourself, Cupcake._ His hand left her face to trail down her arm, leaving a line of fire in its wake. Darcy didn't even bother to hide the shiver and goose bumps he caused. _In fact, _his voice went low in her mind, almost huskily silky, _you're kind of charming…even though your sense of humor could use a little work._ Darcy swallowed thickly, staring up at him.

"I'm sure you could fix it," she murmured, her voice slightly breathless. Inwardly she cursed herself, coming out with a cheesy line like that. She prayed he didn't pay much attention to it, despite his eyes laughing at her lightly. He moved closer, nuzzling her head with his nose. _I'm sure I could,_ he replied absently, before pulling away to look at her once more. _I doubt you could make me less of a cheeky son of a bitch…but I don't mind if you try._

"Not sure I want to," she sighed, her hands stroking his torso lightly. "I like you the way you are." She heard him swallow and his hand came up to her cheek once more.

_Oh, you do, huh?_ His thumb stroked her cheek again. Nodding, her own hand reached around and caressed his spine. A shiver ran down his back underneath her palm and she smiled softly. _Cupcake?_ His voice was cautious and questioning as he shifted to lean up on his elbow. Slowly, his palm moved from her cheek and down her camisole to the gap of skin between her pajamas and top. Idly, his fingers stroked and caressed, sliding up under her shirt and swinging around to her lower back.

Darcy knew she should have been freaking out again; most girls wouldn't get themselves in a position like this with Deadpool. After catching sight of his lack of mouth, they would have made their way over the hills, leaving a billowing cloud of dust in their wake. But as his palm touched her hip just right, she couldn't find it in her right mind to leave, hell; she didn't want to go anywhere else. Lazily, she opened her eyes, finding herself caught in his intense gaze. "Hmn?"

His hand glided up a few inches; long, calloused fingers tracing intricate patterns teasingly. _ For the record…_ his face came close to hers, as though telling a secret…_I like you too…_ his nose nuzzled under her ear lightly. Blushing, Darcy hid her face in his neck, panting very lightly.

"I'm glad," she whispered, gathering her courage and scraping his neck lightly with her teeth. Deadpool closed his eyes and almost seemed to groan against her.

_That's incredibly unfair, Princess; I don't have a mouth at my disposal to fight back with._ With a gentleness that belied his form, he traced around her belly button, finding the soft skin beneath it and teasing it lightly. Letting out a breathy sigh, she laughed softly.

"If I recall correctly, you were going to show me your other talents, remember?" she bit his ear teasingly.

His shoulders shuddered and he let his fingers dip further until it was barely underneath the waist of her pajamas. _I did, didn't I?_ His tone was light and teasing as his digits slid a little lower until they hit the band of her underwear. Darcy bit her lip, her hips raising a touch. _But are you absolutely sure you want that?_ He was giving her the chance to follow the other women over the mountains. Darcy felt that she had passed the point of no return a while back and there was no way she was leaving him. So as she looked at him, her mouth curved into a sultry grin.

"One thing you learn about me, honey, is that I'm very impulsive," her fingers drifted up to his nipple, flicking it teasingly, "And I tend to not regret anything I've done."

A sound bubbled up from his throat and through his nose. _Alright, Princess_, he agreed, shifting to get a hold of the bottom of her top. Staring at her, he slid it up, baring most of her stomach to him. _Whatever you want._ Her hand reached up and cupped his cheek.

"Is this something you want to do? Or are you pandering to me?" she let her hand drift down and around to his back, detouring to trace muscle contours.

_Princess,_ he seemed to laugh at her, _I'm a man, and all men pray to have a gorgeous woman in their arms. And besides, I'm not exactly in a position where backing down is an option_. Darcy blushed and her hand drifted down to his backside and she squeezed teasingly. He stared at her in surprise as she flipped him onto his back.

"I also said that I wasn't going to lie on my back and be easy," she bit her lip teasingly, watching his eyes darken as they focused on her lips.

_Do you really think I'm just going to lay here while you take control?_ His hands settled on her hips comfortably. She shifted slightly, losing her balance a little. Her arms reached out and her hands braced on his shoulders. Leaning down, her hair fell over one shoulder like a curtain.

"Honey, I'm expecting a struggle," she grinned.

Nodding in response, he helped her balance easier, bringing her knees up on either side of his hips. _As you wish, Princess._ Sitting up, he brought her hips down against his, their chests pressing against each other. Letting out a shuddering breath, Darcy knew the balance of control shifted once more. Lightly she ground herself against him, using her nails to lightly scratch down his back.

_Comfortable Princess?_ He asked, nuzzling her neck and lifting her top up to bare her stomach again.

Nodding lazily, she shifted closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, kissing and nibbling his neck. "Of course," she said, letting out a giggle as he stroked her side. "That tickles."

Looking like he wished he could smile, Deadpool nuzzled his nose in her hair, breathing in the light scent of jasmine. _Then I'm doing my job right._ He shifted her to look in her eye, his fingers lightly brushing the underside of her breast.

Blushing, she lowered her eyes as a shiver of pleasure rocked her to her core. Biting her lip she looked back up at him as his fingers played with her nipple, tugging, flicking, stroking. Whimpering sobs escaped her throat as she rocked against him, his hardness rubbing against her just at the point. His other hand on her hip squeezed as she moved.

_You're kind of precious when you bite your lip, Princess_, he crooned, rolling her nipple a little more. _I think we'd both be enjoying this more if I had a mouth, but you seem pretty happy…I'm glad_. He nuzzled under her ear with his nose, the hand on her hip moving to her silken clad backside and pushed her against him a little harder before squeezing encouragingly. Her flush grew brighter.

"I love the feel of your hands, sugar," she whispered, keeping with the rhythm he had set. "And as for your mouth, well, that'll be fixed soon enough."

Grunting, he buried a hand in her hair. _Good, cause I really want to try this with a mouth._

Darcy let out a breathless laugh before her breath caught as she shifted. "I have to admit, you're talented so far."

_I've never tried this in my current state, Kitten; no normal girl wants to be with a guy without a mouth. But I'll take it as a compliment._ His hand reached between her legs for added friction, causing her to cry out and shudder, all but her still rocking hips limp against him. _ God, honey, you're magnificent_.

"You're not rusty at all honey," she said exhaling shakily.

_Good to know_, he seemed to whisper, pulling the elastic waist band of her pants down, seeking her hot juncture. Darcy cuddled against him, nibbling and sucking at his neck, causing his hand to spasm happily. _That's it baby, right there…keep at it baby, please…_ Enthusiastically, she followed his instruction, allowing her fingers to tease down his sides, dipping in under his waistband before slipping back up his chest.

Seeking fingers pushed her underwear away and buried themselves into her finally, setting a deep slow rhythm. Darcy's eyelids grew heavy and her mouth parted as soft croons filled the air around them. Deadpool stared at her mouth longingly, his other hand caressing her hair, encouraging her to move on her own against his long fingers. _God baby, I can't tell you how much I want to kiss you right now._ He pushed her head back to his neck. Immediately she attacked his neck once more elegantly. Leaning back, she watched mournfully as the mark healed almost instantaneously.

"I wish that lasted a bit longer," she whispered quietly.

_Sorry, I heal fast, Princess_. Deadpool touched her cheek before pulling her arms up. Teasingly, he took his time pulling off her camisole, pausing to touch her waist, stomach, breasts and neck. Dark brown, almost black eyes stared at the smooth bounce of her medium chest, his hands drawn to the creamy globes like a man finding an oasis in the middle of a desert. Abruptly, he flipped her on her back, his muscular bulk resting on her, his elbows taking most of his weight. She let out a mournful whimper, but loved him all around her. Wanting more contact, she wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing their hips into contact once more.

Whispering into his ear, she begged him for more, needing him inside her as her passion and arousal grew. With one hand he cradled her face, brushing his thumb against her lips, a growl vibrating from his chest as she kissed and licked it, the other going down to his pants, struggling to pull them off. Darcy's hands pushed his out of the way as she smoothly pulled them down. He pressed his face against her shoulder as though in a kiss.

"You're so warm," Darcy croons lovingly, her hands caressing from neck to taunt backside. _You too…it's nice…You're skin's so soft, Princess._ Slowly, his hands drifted down her back, sliding under the waist band of her pants and underwear, teasingly taking them off slow. He drifted up her legs, tracing swirls and whimsical patterns. Feet arching delicately, Darcy grabbed the pillow on either side of her head, panting and moaning, begging him to get a move on. He avoided her center he had lavishly paid attention to previously, causing her to let out a frustrated sob.

"God, you're evil," she huffed. 

_That's the best compliment I've gotten all night, Cupcake._ He snuggled up her breast carefully, bringing it up to a pebble. Keening, she brought her legs around his hips once more, physically begging for him. He caressed her thigh, his scarred jaw running softly along her jaw. Every bump and pucker she could feel. _I hope its still good for you, Princess…I can't hold out for much longer._

With an open expression, she touched his cheek. "Honey, you don't need to have a mouth to have sex," she kissed where his mouth should have been; "I have no doubts that it will be fantastic for both of us. You've played my body like a pro, now I want the big finish," she winked saucily.

Pulling back, he stared at her, stunned and pleased at both, her words and action. _There is really one or two things you _need_ for sex…the others just make it all the more fun._ Dipping his finger inside her, he rubbed his scarred mouth over her neck and shoulder. Arching her body against his, she felt another finger slide into her, pumping in an achingly slow motion.

"Please, Deadpool, move your hot ass," she groaned quietly. Hooking his finger and releasing it, he reveled in her startled, needy cry. By now three fingers were inside her and she was thrusting hard one his hands, or at least as hard as he would let her. "Do that again, please?" she begged, kissing and nibbling his throat, jaw and ear. _Can't very well ignore a plea._ He hooked his fingers one more time before pulling out, leaving her empty and on fire.

"Are you trying to drive me mad?" her fingers scrapped down his back hard, drawing blood before they healed, leaving Deadpool shivering. His long, tapered fingers spread her nether lips apart, pressing himself intimately against her own sex. He rubbed slowly, coating himself with her nectar. Finally he sank into her, bringing satisfied groans from both of them.

Setting a bruising pace, his jaw clenched, knowing he wouldn't last too long. His fingers slipped down and rubbed her as he thrust into her. Clenching around him, she felt herself wind higher and higher. The friction was driving her mad and her soft passionate cries danced around the room, slowly growing in volume. He was so strong, powerful; she was helpless to both their needs in his arms. They moved at a fevered pace, bringing her higher, closer, over. Like falling over a waterfall, she shattered in his arms, crying out his name in a lustful sob. He wasn't far behind, shooting hot syrupy cum over her inner walls.

Falling to one side so he wouldn't crush her, he shakily pulled her trembling form close. They shuddered together, slowly coming down from their high. The door pounded, startling them both. Logan's irritated voice floated through the thick wood.

"Would you two cut it out? It reeks out here!" Darcy murmured an apology and sleepily cuddled into Deadpool's side, the mouth-less man pulling her quilt around them before they both drifted off to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey all! I have found, since is having a technical glitch, I have been unable to reply to reviews. So I just want you all to know that I have received them and I adore you all. Thank you for taking the time to review. **

**IcedBlaze, thank you for beta-ing and helping me out.**

**Chapter 13: Morning after…**

_Stryker walked her to a new cell, the screaming crescendos a regular white noise. She remembered the first time she had visited with the poor man from the glass cell. It hardly bothered her now, but not once did she dare tell Wade or Jimmy where the military man took her. It was bad, somewhere she knew__,__ but Stryker's word over took her small voice. No longer did she argue or throw a tantrum to avoid getting the powers he wanted. Now he'd say something, press a button__,__and__ five minutes later__,__ she would wake up, powers imprinted and the person she stole from laying on the floor screaming in agony._

_This time he wanted her to pick up a power to heal others. Military man's bosses said he needed a medic, so he took her to the cells, to a padded room. There was a boy, not much older than her, but with a very mean streak. He swore, he yelled, he spat at the glass screen and threw himself at it, screaming furiously. Darcy cuddled against one of the __guards__, frightened to go anywhere near him. _

_Her guardian glared down at her, disgusted at her fear. "Don't you want to be a hero?" he spoke down to her, grabbing her arm and pulling her to the door. Out of his pocket__,__ he pulled out a remote device and knelt down next to her. "You're going to be a hero, whether you want this or not." A buzz sounded in her head, a pressure forced an ache between her eyes. She shrieked in pain, her hands over her ears. Then there was quiet and darkness._

_The next thing she knew, she was sitting in the military car next to Stryker, her hands folded demurely in her lap. Her eyes started to water and she tried to sniffle quietly. His cold beady eyes looked down at her dispassionately. "You've started the next part of serving your country. Don't disappoint me."_

_**_

Light flittered through her lacy curtains, shining on the bed, kissing the occupants. Stretching like a feline, Darcy woke slowly, feeling deliciously sore and still fuzzy. However, the weight on her arm had her freezing immediately. Looking over her bare shoulder, she stared in shock at the slumbering form of Deadpool. Her hand went to her mouth and she turned away from him abruptly. The night came rushing back, the words, the whispers, the sex, everything.

Carefully, she slipped out of the bed and crept into the shower, turning it to scalding. What had she done? She didn't even know the guy and jumped straight into bed with him. A shocked tear slipped down her cheek, followed by a steady stream. The night was amazing, she knew that for sure, but who the hell was he?

Christ! She did it again, jumped head first into a whirlwind intimacy without thinking of the consequences. The thought of facing him had her shaking. With trembling limbs, she scrubbed herself harshly, appalled at her lack of judgment. The harsh surface of the cloth not getting to the feeling of dirt under her skin. She lent against the wall of the shower as the hot water beat down on her, a feeling of guilty swelled in her chest, it was like a bad dream she couldn't escape. Shame flooded her face in a blush as images from the night before danced around her mind. But there was one thing she didn't regret, her promise to help him. There was one thing Darcy prided herself on, and that was keeping her word. She never backed down from a promise and just because she jumped into bed with a man she knew nothing about, that wouldn't change.

Logan must have such a low opinion of her. She had a lower opinion of herself.

The shower grew cold and she stepped out, composing herself as she towel dried herself. There was definitely attraction between them, but she wanted more than one night. She wanted a decent, healthy relationship, the complete opposite of her last one. Wrapping her robe around her, she walked back into the bedroom, Deadpool still snoozing naked on her bed. Standing next to the bed, she stared at him, taking in his peaceful expression. Last night he had told her that since the experimentation, he had slept with no one, and she believed him. It was hard to get past the lack of mouth. It was the best night she had ever had, and her imagination filled the blanks for what it would be like with him and his mouth. She reached out and touched his cheek gently.

Sighing, she pulled back and walked over to her dresser, pulling out a matching set of light blue cotton underwear. Slipping into them, she dropped the towel and walked over to her wardrobe, unaware of intense brown eyes watching her. Back towards the bed, she changed into a pair of wide leg, pinstripe, navy blue trousers and a light blue blouse. Closing the doors, she went over to the dresser and pulled open a drawer, grabbing out her jewelry box and a glasses case.

_Princess?_ She jumped and turned around, Deadpool sitting up on the bed, her quilt and sheets bunched around his waist. Not wanting him to have an inkling of what she was thinking, she smiled softly, half genuine.

"Morning," she said softly, opening the case and putting on her wide frame navy glasses.

_You know, once my TV didn't work…So I kicked it….and it started working again._ Darcy let out a bark of laughter at his random, insane comment. Never before did she have a partner who started a morning-after conversation about a TV that was broken.

_You wanna know something else?_ She raised her eyebrows curiously. _You're hotter than the one Kirk bagged on Star Trek._ She let out an undignified snort and turned away from him, putting on a pearl necklace.

_Seriously, though, are you regretting last night?_ She shook her head, turned to face him and smiled the fakest smile she ever wore.

"No, Deadpool, I don't regret is at all."

He seemed to believe her, nodding lightly and got up, walking to her stark naked and nuzzled her ear lightly. _Good. What's happening today?_

"Well, I have to talk to Hank about getting you down in the medical bay this afternoon. I apparently already have the ability to heal, I just forgot about it and I have a couple hours in my office to help my students before their exams. As for you, you get to relax and chill before the reversal. How are you with pain?"

_SAFEWORD! SAFEWORD! _He shouted in her mind instinctively. His loud tone forced sharp pain through her mind. Noticing her head in her hands, he quieted, apologizing softly. _Sorry, the whole experimentation process was worse than watching the very bad scene of Barbie and Ken practicing BDSM._

Darcy stared at him in shock. "I really don't want to know do I?" He shook his head in reply. "The reason I ask is that I can't put you under any anesthesia because it will knock me out the moment I try to fix you and we'll be back to square one."

Deadpool grabbed her hair brush and began to run it through her hair gently. _Thank you, for last night and __for bringing__ back my classic good looks._

She smiled up at him, guilt tearing at her stomach. "I haven't done anything with your looks just yet. I'm not a hundred percent sure that it'll work."

_You're trying__,__ and that's the best gift I've received for a while. Better than the birthday cake at the cells, that's for sure._

She sighed, grabbing the hair brush and quickly brushed her hair into a smooth bun. "I have to go see Hank this morning, so feel free to snoop or have a shower, but you may have to wait a while. I used the last of the hot water before." He nodded and gave her a warm look. Feeling more than a little awkward, she leaned up and brushed her lips against his scarred cheek. "I need to catch him before breakfast; do you want to come with me?" He shook his head and touched her cheek lightly before stepping back.

_I'll see you soon, Princess._ Smiling again, she slipped into her heels and ducked out of the room with a wave. As soon as the door closed, she struggled to hold her tears at bay, the shame and guilt flooding through her.

**

"HANK!"Darcy yelled down the hallway, pushing past students looking for a mid-morning breakfast. The blue furred man looked up and smiled at the small woman weaving her way through the teens. Puffing, she came to his side, looking a little frazzled and her hair frizzy. Taking her arm, he pulled her to a quiet corner, avoiding the loud students. "Hey Teddy Bear," she smiled lightly at him.

"Hello Darcy," he smiled at her softly, "What can I do for you?"

"Are you free for a few hours this afternoon? I kind of promised Deadpool that I'd reverse the scarring he received from Stryker." She looked at him a little sheepish. "I know I should have asked you first and all, and I could probably do it on my own, I just prefer to have an excellent doctor at my side to make sure I'm doing it right." Hank let out a soft laugh before tucking some hair behind her ear.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, sweetheart, and lucky for you I have nothing on except for a few reports. Supervising your session will be a privilege." Darcy beamed at him happily and threw her arms around the man.

"Thanks Hank, you're a life saver!"

"I should hope so, or I'd need a new career."

She smiled a goodbye and walked towards the kitchen, hoping for an orange before going to her office. As she walked, she smiled at Rogue, who was staring at the man who had helped them at the compound, the one that Deadpool had called a 'fairy'. Darcy prayed that her friend didn't make the same mistake she had committed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, I know I've been bad at updating this chapter, in fact, I've been sitting on it for a while, afraid to post, but my friend, PyroQueenofFire begged me to post and add a note saying that this is just a bump in the road, all of my stories do have happy endings…eventually. Thanks to IcedBlaze for beta-reading and to Pyro for giving me the boot up the pants that I needed.**

**Standard Disclaimer applies and also, as a note, I haven't done medical science, neither has Darcy, this is just her take on what was happening.**

**Don't forget to leave a review when you're done! Have a good one!**

**Chapter Fourteen: Waking up….**

Nervously, Darcy put on the white lab coat. Never before could she remember doing anything like this. Reversing such extensive disfiguration was something she was sure hadn't been done before. Rubbing down her clammy hands on her pant legs, she walked into the examination room, spying Hank applying the Vital Sensor pads over Deadpool's body. Darcy had to swallow for a moment, spying her lover in just a pair of tight black shorts. Wincing at the term, she turned her eyes away from him and looked at Hank.

The blue man spied her over Deadpool's shoulder and gave her a wry smile. "You certainly know how to pick them, Darcy girl," He said, a slight growl adding a timbre to his voice.

"What do you mean?" She asked curiously, coming around and facing Deadpool.

_I wrote him a love letter, see?_ He held out a piece of paper with a few lines scrawled:

**Dear Mr. Beastie McDreamy,**

**I thank you for not touching me as Barbie touches Ken**

**Duct tape is the sticky of the world**

**And, please, be gentle, I'm a virgin**

**Sincerely, **

**Your neighborhood friendly Deadpool**

**CHEERS!**

Darcy gave her innocent looking new friend a slap across the back of the head. "Sorry, Hank, he still needs to be properly housetrained. Is everything ready?" Ignoring the scarred man's indignant glare, she walked over to the taps and washed her hands, diligently rubbing in an anti-sanitizer. The blue man nodded and took a seat by the computer, watching the vital signs viciously, giving them their privacy.

"Lay down," she said to Deadpool quietly. The tall man followed her instruction promptly. Pulling over a stool, she set it at the head of the surgery table.

_Are you alright, Princess?_ She smiled down at him, her hands stroking his face gently.

"Of course, I'm just a little nervous that's all. I've never done this before."

_You haven't given me any reason to doubt your abilities, Cupcake_. Taking in a deep breath, she settled down, her hands either side of his cheeks. Lightly, she stroked his cheeks, delving into his abilities slowly, getting an idea of what she had to deal with.

"This will hurt, a lot," she said quietly, "I'm sorry."

_I've got a high threshold for pain, darling, don't worry about me. Shall we get started on bringing back my mouth and good looks?_

Nodding to Hank, she pulled her old ability up. It was a struggle; the power was deep, in an almost locked away part in her mind. Like sluggish worms, she felt it come up, through her feet, her body, her arms and, finally, through her hands. Deadpool's cells stood to attention, not quite sure of what to take of her intrusion. Lightly, she started to talk to them, try and convince them to do her bidding.

Like a tidal wave, they fought against her viciously. Their ferocity took her by surprise and she was almost overwhelmed. Gathering her wits and nerves, she pushed harder, making them bend to her control. It seemed like hours had passed, the tug of war against cellular control was brutal and bloodthirsty. Finally, she broke through the lines. Stryker's influence had been deeper than she realized. Suddenly, she heard screaming, but it wasn't in her mind. The voice was disembodied, out of her focus.

The cells were quiet in his jaw, so she moved further up, the scars easier to heal. More hours went by as she waged war, her fingers climbing higher and higher as the screams got louder and louder. Suddenly, she won the war. No more cells to battle, no more skirmishes to win. Quietly, like a leaf on a river, she pulled her ability back in through her fingers and down through her body, back to the quiet corner it was locked in.

Opening her eyes, she absently stroked the lush, thick, brown locks. She gazed down the closed brown eyes and absently noted that a tiny web of scars remained on one cheek. His lips were well defined, arched perfectly. A drop of red liquid marred his features where Darcy leaned over him. Grasping the sleeve of her lab coat, she held it up to her nose, blood staining the fabric rapidly.

"Are you alright, Darcy?" Hank's concerned voice was close, almost at her ear. Jumping at the sudden noise, she looked over at the furry man with a slightly dazed expression.

"Um, yeah, sorry, just trying to get my vertigo back," she replied. Before Hank could say anything else, a student walked in, complaining of food poisoning.

"Are you alright, handling Deadpool now?" he asked, unsure to leave her alone.

Darcy nodded reassuringly, "Yeah, I'll be fine in a few minutes. He should be waking soon. How long did it take?"

"Three hours," Hank replied, moving to walk out the door. "If you need me, use the intercom." She nodded again, and turned back to Deadpool, a tendril of recognition floating through her mind.

It wasn't long until he woke up, fluttering his long lashes as he opened his eyes. "Cupcake?"

Suddenly, everything she knew came flooding back. He reached out to her, hurt flickering over his face as she speedily moved backwards up, her hand over her mouth.

"Does it really look that bad?" He reached up and touched his hair, before falling down to his mouth and cheeks, smiling a little. "It doesn't feel that bad, Princess. I think you did it!" His smile nailed in the last of her shock.

"No FUCKING way!" She swore, walking backwards until she hit the wall and slid down, her wide eyes unable to take the sight in front of her.

"I know, right?" he was taking her words the wrong way. He looked at his reflection on the wall, preening and posing. He poked at his mouth and stuck out his tongue. "I look amazing, not to mention the scar has a certain dangerous appeal." Frowning at her lack of response, he turned to her, his expression going from jubilant to worried. "Princess, you look a little startled—in fact, you look _really_ startled."

Darcy couldn't comprehend the face in front of her. It wasn't possible, she was dreaming, everything was a dream, it couldn't be a memory, she flat out refused to let it be a memory. But all of her denials still didn't stop her from whispering it out loud. "Wade?" A strangled sob escaped her throat as tears welled. "No, no, no, no, no, it can't be true," she turned her head away from him and blinked, hoping the face looking at her blankly would turn into another.

"How did you know my real name?" he said quietly, no tone in his voice detectable. "I don't remember telling you." It was like the last nail was hammered into her coffin. There was no way she could deny it now. Closing her eyes, she turned back to him, her posture absolutely dejected.

"Everything that I dreamed, it was real," she whispered to the air, her voice fatalistic. "You're Wade Wilson."

"Everything, Princess?" Deadpool—Wade's accent was husky from lack of use, but his questioning pitch was real and detectable. She could almost hear the gears ticking in his head as growing horror spread over his face. "Wait…"

"I'm Darcy Whitlock," she almost shouted at him, unable to hold the tears at bay any longer. "You bought me my Funny Bunny when I was a girl." Flashes of their shared night crossed her mind and she began to feel nauseous. "Oh, god! What have I done?" Wade looked at her, processing the information and formulate something to say.

"D-Darcy? My little Darcy? My Funny Bunny toting, tea party having, tiny little slip of a girl Darcy?" his own shock was evident. "Well…um…I've just added pedophile to my list of sins," he said dumbly, leaning against the table.

Darcy looked at him her eyes red and raw. "Wha-what am I going to call you now?" He swallowed thickly, looking away from her.

"Honestly? I really don't know." He paused for a moment. "God! At this point, I'm trying to process how the fuck this all happened…just pick one and call me whatever it is you want." Wade's voice died down to an almost inaudible whisper. "Jesus Fucking Christ!"

"Where do we go from here?" Darcy asked after a moment. "FUCK!"

He rubbed his temples, unable to truly comprehend what was going on. Darcy stared at him helplessly, her hands trembling from both the cell reversal and the past that pushed itself to the forefront of her mind. The previous night floated around her head like a broken record, her breathy moans, her begging him to continue. She just wanted to scream out loud, beg him to forget what a slut she felt she had been. Words were truly beyond them, but neither could handle the silence.

"Where do we go from here?" she asked dully, looking over at him. Rubbing his temples he looked back at her, emotions he didn't want to analyze rushing through him.

"I'm…appreciative of what you've done for me, Princess," he began, smiling sadly before composing himself back to a steady stare. "But…I just can't stay here…not here with all the rules and the bonding and the discipline…not close to you…this is a bit…this is a bit much to handle." Her face crumbled and her tears stumbled over her eyes and down her cheeks. "I have to do what I do best, Princess…" He trailed off, unable to continue as she buried her head into her hands, drawing her knees up to hide.

He began again, his voice raw. "Princess, I really wish you wouldn't cry…" He sighed quietly. "Honestly, I think it's the best for both of us if I just…" He moved over to her, his hand reaching towards her bowed head before clenching into a fist and pulling back. "God, Princess, I'm so sorry." He leaned over and kissed her head before turning and walking out, not once looking back at her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Ok, ok, I get it, I'm a bad girl for leaving it this long…but this chapter was so hard *bursts into tears* Anyway, I finally got this chapter going, and have rediscovered Wade's path (boy is he a hard muse to catch!!!). Next chapter's post isn't going to take as long, I swear it on Logan's claws!**

**Anyway, you know the standard disclaimer, I know I don't have to point it out to you guys again, but y'know.**

**Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review…**

**Oh, P.S thanks to IcedBlaze, my beta reader, and Pyro for giving me a hand.**

**Chapter Fifteen: The Blues…**

Darcy didn't cope well with Wade's abrupt departure. In fact, she seemed to close in on herself, only coming out when around Logan or Rogue. Classes were a chore, a responsibility that she began to despise for making her leave the comfort of her room, but she was always too afraid of the repercussions if she just avoided them.

On one hand, she wholeheartedly agreed with Wade's decision to leave. The situation between them had become far too complicated to sort out if they had remained in each other's company. It was hard to see past the childhood hero that he used to be to her, to see to the man he _was_ in her adult mind.

Shame had her nauseous and forever seeking the company of her bathroom during the nights. The darkness held no busy temptations that she could hide her thoughts behind. More often than not, Darcy was reduced to tears, hiding in the comfort of warm water sleuthing around her as she showered.

Logan always found her eating alone, away from the people they had rescued. Childish as it was, she tried to deny their existence, as though if she didn't see them, then perhaps she would wake up and discover that everything was a dream. Something she made up from the back recess of her mind...something she didn't have to face every new day.

Then she would hear the girl that she used to be, crying out for her hero, confused as to why he abandoned her. For all the time she had dreamed about him, before he had become a reality to her, she begged for a man like him to be real. She had wished for someone who would protect her and explain to her the intricacies of the world to her.

Her hopeless romantic side couldn't help but find similarities of her situation and compare them to the trashy romance novels she ate up so quickly. But then her sensible side kicked in, waking her up to the actuality of the affair.

They slept together, it was a stunning experience, but it didn't change the morning after. Even before she found out his identity, the regret was there; her impulsiveness had led her astray. Perhaps, subconsciously, she had always known who he was. Maybe that was why the regret surfaced so quickly?

There was no doubt about her difficulty to reconcile the two images she had of him. Which was the real Wade? And following that line of questioning, what made him turn from his identity and become Deadpool?

The only person who knew the complete answer was missing, but there were the other members of her past that held the possibility of giving her swirling mind some answers. Shying away from that thought, Darcy hid behind her denial of their existence once more, the adult side of her chiding at her foolishness.

************************************************************************

"Wake up!"

Darcy's eyes flashed open as her mattress, with her on it, flipped over onto the floor. Grumbling furiously, she peeked out from the heavy bedding and glared at Logan. Not amused at her predicament, he stared at her right back, his black eyes uncompromising.

"Today you are going to put on some sweats, have breakfast in the kitchen, and train in the Danger Room with Storm and me, got it?" his voice was harsh and gravelly, impatience adding a cold sting. "You've been moping for a week and I'm sick of it."

"I don't have to go if I don't want to," she said mulishly, crawling out of the mess and standing up in front of him. With superior speed, he grabbed her arm and pulled her over to her bathroom, his expression tight with anger.

"You've got five minutes before I come in there and pull you out—don't make me dress you, either, or I'm going to be pissed."

Logan pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door with a slam. Letting out an angry sigh, she turned on her heel and started to strip, knowing that he would keep his word. Leaning over, she turned the shower on, letting steam fill the tiled room before slipping in.

Perhaps she was taking her moping too far, she conceded as the hot water woke her up more gently than the pacing alarm clock outside the door. She was being childish, she knew that, but it still didn't change how she felt. Although, Darcy was amazed that he let it go for so long, normally his patience only extended for a day or so.

Barely managing to lather soap on her body, Logan's fist pounded on the door. With a slight frown, she glared at the door before yelling for a few more minutes. Although, to be honest, she was glad that Logan had taken it up on himself to try to break her out of her damaging cycle. It was nice to know that as broken as she felt, Logan still had his own way of getting to her. He slammed his fist against the door a second time.

"If you want to see me naked, keep banging the door down," she yelled at him, rinsing off and turning the taps. Grabbing a blue towel, she dried herself off, smirking lightly at the lack of noise. Wrapping the towel around her, she walked out of the bathroom, steam billowing around her. Logan stared at her, his brow rising.

"You didn't give me a chance to grab some clothes, deal with it," she growled, yanking out her gym clothes from the dresser and disappearing back into the bathroom to change. Coming out, she was surprised to see Rogue on her bed and Logan staring at her unhappily.

"You and I are jogging," Rogue announced, "I have something amazing to tell you." The usual subdued woman was nowhere to be seen, instead, there was a bright, bounding sprite in front of her. "Then I'm giving you back to Logan for breakfast." The brown-haired woman got off the bed and dragged her out of the door, not giving their male companion a second glance.

*********************************************************************

It was a nice morning, cool, but without a cloud in the sky. Early bird students were out of bed, some attending to the school's horses, others doing small chores around in the gardens, picking up after their activities the previous day. Rogue and Darcy pounded around the border of the woods, keeping their presence open to the windows of the school. Everyone knew to keep in sight, too many breaches had occurred.

It was hard for Darcy to be out in plain sight; she could see the other prisoners around, some needing to be out and active and their memories harsh from captivity. Although they looked healthy, benefiting from the Professor's care, she hated their presence with a passion, their rescue tainted by Wade's abrupt departure.

"So you look a little disgruntled," Rogue panted as they passed the basketball court.

"Didn't exactly plan on being out and about today," Darcy replied shortly, let out short huffs of air.

Her friend let out a small smile. "Yeah, well, it's about time you joined the rest of the world, don't you think?"

"Reality bites," she sighed, speeding up her jog to a light sprint. Rogue followed flawlessly.

"Sometimes," she replied, shrugging, "But I kind of like it."

They ran past some students, their footsteps in beat with each other. "For me, not so much. What's this news of yours?" Darcy asked, somewhat impatient. Rogue let out a grunt, and grabbed her arm, forcing them to both stop. Green eyes bored into her own with a seriousness she hadn't seen since Logan had picked her up.

"You know, if you gave reality a chance and stopped sulking, you could do something with yourself and not have to think about everything that has happened." She took a breath and a pleased smile teased at her lips. "As for my good news, well, I don't know if you want to hear it—reality bites, after all."

"Just spill the beans, you're unexplained happiness is annoying," Darcy grumbled, her eyes giving a cool glare. Rogue shrugged off her friend's attitude.

"As is your pessimistic anger issue—I'm not Wade, you know…I haven't done anything to deserve your blatant hostility."

"I know, I'm sorry, it's just…it's hard," she sighed after a while, pulling out her elastic hair band and redoing her hair.

"Sugar, I know it's hard, but sulking isn't going to make it any easier, you know?"

"I know, but at the moment, I'm enjoying the sulking," Darcy replied, stubborn but acknowledging the childish tone her words had. Rogue let out a bark of laughter.

"I honestly don't see how thinking about it over and over again is enjoyable," she teased, "But then again, maybe I do the sulking thing wrong."

Darcy let out a snicker and they began to jog once more. "Tell me your news, it may break the cycle."

Rogue let out a mock shocked gasp. "The thing! It laughs!" she beamed brightly.

"You know," Darcy began wryly, "I'm beginning to think there is no news."

"Yeah, after all, there is nothing remotely exciting about making out with Remy LeBeau."


	16. Chapter 16

**Ok, I'm sorry I haven't kept my promise and made a quick update, I've been beating myself up about it for quite some time. All I have to offer is an explanation: A freakin' horrible writers block and the lack of internet, temporarily. It won't be long until I have regular internet again (plus air conditioning!) and I'll be a lot more regular with my updating…I won't promise, cause atm I'm horrible at keeping them, but I will try my hardest. **

**I hope you guys like this one, it's the beginning of the action, so no more fillers for a while and in a chapter or two you'll see our dearest Wade again, he just couldn't stay away from you guys…apparently the adoration has gone to his head—go figure. Anyway, I'll let you guys read on, and I'll catch you next time!**

**Chapter sixteen: Life, the Universe and 42**

"_Jimmy?" Darcy tugged at the top of the covers, trying to wake the man. "Wake up please, Jimmy," she repeated in a stage whisper. The room was dark, illuminated by a light shinning in from the corridor. It was spartan, only having a bed and a dresser with a lamp on top of it. James wasn't one for trophies, unlike the others of the team. He stirred at her urging, slowly opening his eyes. _

"_Darc?" James asked groggily, his dark familiar eyes bloodshot and dark rimmed. Abruptly he sat up, the olive covers pooling off his bare torso to his waist. Darcy stared up at him, clutching at her funny bunny, tears swimming in her large eyes. Snagging an arm around her, he brought her up to his lap and let her cuddle into him. "What's wrong?"_

"_I had another nightmare—I'm afraid to go back to bed," she admitted. "The bad men won't take me away will they?"_

"_W—who are the bad men?" James asked, yawning. _

"_The Colonel's other men," Darcy replied, her hand curling around his army tags. "The Colonel brings his other men in when they want to hurt me in the hospital, or want me to hurt people." She looked up at him suddenly, her eyes wide and frightened. "I've been bad…the Colonel told me that if I told you or Wade I'll get into trouble, and I won't be a hero anymore."_

"_Is this in your dream?"_

"_Yes—and no," she hedged. "I'm afraid of it happening, that's why I have the nightmares, but if I'm not good, then they really will take me away from you and Wade."_

"_You know he and I won't let that happen, Darcy," James soothed, running gentle circles down her back with his hand. "We'll take you away before all of that happens."_

"_Promise?"_

"_Promise."_

_**He watched her as she slept; a silent watchman in the dark. He swore to himself that he would keep away, he swore it. Nevertheless, like the past two nights, there he was, watching her, and he would continuously do so for days after.**_

A kinetic barrier; that was all it took, Darcy shook her head as she graded papers. Of all the things needed to get Rogue the physical affection she needed was a paper thin manipulation of energy. There was no doubt about it, the girl was giddy for the attention, and Darcy was more than happy for her, but there was still the worry that Rogue would go places she normally wouldn't because of her new ability to touch.

It was just like puberty, the new taste of hormones, the discovery of different feelings and the pleasures of simple touches; the innocent wonder and curiosity leading new teens into a world that had even adults losing themselves in. Rogue had already had the sex talk, Darcy was sure of it, but a small fear of having to do it again set her nerves aflutter. Lord knows she wasn't the best example of smart sex, or hell, even control, her recent actions had proven this beyond all doubt.

But to be honest, it really wasn't anything to do with the sex that had Darcy wincing at the thought of Wade; it was the fact that it was _Wade_, not some random guy, which had her feeling somewhat nauseous. She couldn't quite get past the memory of him playing with her dolls (admittedly, it was more army games and pretend killing her dolls rather than an actual healthy tea time game), or even him soothing away her nightmares that not even Logan could sooth…

Logan, now there was a problem she happily invested most of her recent thoughts on, Logan had no clue of the memories she held. He was her Jimmy; there was no hesitation with her certainty. But how could she tell him? How could she tell him that he was part of Stryker's original plans, that she originally was one of his first projects?

She was slightly irritated at Rogue getting her out of her sulky mood; it left too much time to think about her situation with Logan. It was hard to picture his reaction, she was skeptical that he would believe her anyway, he denied it vehemently when Stryker suggested at him working with the Colonel before he lost his memories.

A knock sounded at her open door, startling her out of her thoughts. Clearing her through, Darcy sat up and looked at the person. He was one of the people they had brought back, an African-looking cowboy with warm eyes and a ready smile.

"John Wraith," she greeted in surprise, "What can I do for you?" The nervousness of the new ones hadn't completely disappeared and she struggled not to shy away from the man.

"I was hopin' we could talk," he replied, his voice a deep timbre that invited trust and confidence.

"Um, alright," she agreed, unsure of what else to say.

"Zero was a little hurt when you started to avoid him," John started, "Although it's hard to tell with him actin' all cocky and arrogant. He was fond of you, especially toward the end before you n' James left."

"I'm not sure what you want me to say—I only recently remember my time with you," Darcy said hastily, fiddling with a few papers in front of her, "The majority only coming back when Deadpool—_Wade_—left. I'm still adjusting to the fact that you guys aren't dreams, but actual people."

He stared at her, his eyes piercing and searching. Swallowing convulsively, she lowered her eyes, unable to handle the stare. "Jimmy don't seem to remember either; same accident?"

She shook her head. "No…he…was shot in the head, by Stryker, my loss was due to shock, I blocked it out because it was too hard to remember…it hurt too much to remember," she whispered towards the end. "Logan—Jimmy—he took me away in Nigeria, gave me to a family. But I couldn't handle being away from him and started making trouble. The kind of trouble that somehow caught the attention of the Colonel and he sent Victor to come and get me." John sucked in a breath, but let her continue. "I'm sure you remember the Island?" He nodded and she started her tale once more. "Stryker wanted me more behaved and part of his experiments. I still don't know what he did; only that he got frustrated with me quickly and I was sent to one of the back cages until Jimmy broke us all out. That's when Stryker hurt Jimmy. We left and I blocked out the memories," she finished simply.

"That makes sense, I s'pose," John replied, stroking the light beard on his chin. "I'll let Zero know, but don't go ignorin' us now. You're still our baby doll. N' Wade, well, he'll come around, the boy could never leave you be, comin' home just for you."

"I highly doubt that Wade will come back this time," Darcy said quietly, staring out the window.

"Now why are you goin' around n' sayin' stuff like that? You know the boy loves you," John scolded. "Maybe now he sees you as the woman you are instead of the girl you were," he said cryptically, a twinkle in his eye. "You'll be having dinner with me n' Zero, an' I won't be takin' no for an answer."

###

"**Sir, we have the phone tracker ready for you," A soldier snapped sharply in a salute. The older gentleman at the table nodded his head dismissively, his attention focused fully on the papers before him. "Sir, we need the number you want tracked." Files were shuffled irritably as the man searched for the number, thrusting it into the younger man's hands with a huff.**

"**I need every number and any information you can pull from this cell phone number and I want it yesterday," he replied, his voice menacing and subdued.**

"**Y—yes sir!" The soldier snapped to attention, saluting before turning and disappearing out of the room and down the hall.**


	17. Chapter 17

**There really isn't an excuse for my lack of updating, but I'm not going to promise anything...in the words of George Clooney: "I've learned not to give definitive statements." The muse is the muse and I'm its bitch *shrugs* You can thank a Green Lantern trailer for this...there's something about Ryan Reynolds that really gets my muse pumping. **

**Anyway, this is a real plot mover, now I can finally get this story moving again! Yeah, I know that these last few chapters have been more filler chapters than anything, but YAY a move on! Anyway, I'm off to get more of one of my Batman Begins fics updated as a favour to another author..so toodles while I still am mused up!**

**Don't forget to review chickin' lickin's**

**Chapter Seventeen: Codeword: Hero**

"_Jimmy?"_

_..._

"_Jimmy, you gotta wake up..."_

_..._

"_Jimmy, it's the bad men, they're coming..."_

_..._

"_Please wake up Jimmy..."_

_

* * *

_

"**Did you get the information I asked for?" Stryker asked, stepping into the control room.**

"**Yes sir," a subordinate replied, handing him a thin envelope. "Contacts, texts, saved messages and call logs are all in the file, sir, there are even some pictures she has taken."**

**Stryker nodded, tugging at his short grey beard for a moment. "Good. Now I want you to figure out a way for us to call her using one of those numbers from here. It's about time for our little hero to come home."**

**

* * *

**

Darcy let out a smile and a laugh as the men around her let out a roar of laughter. It was good, the fact they didn't dwell on the horrors that they saw when with Stryker, instead, focusing more and more on the fun times, the times where they felt like a team the most. It was stifled at the start, Zero and John afraid to bring up anything to do with Wade or Logan, but when Darcy regaled them with a tale featuring the two, they became more open.

They were different then what she remembered them being like, more serious, more sombre, but it was to be expected after being a prisoner for so long. There was no way she could deny that she felt better. Perhaps this was what she actually needed, a chance to face part of her past rather than run away from it.

Taking a sip of her wine, Darcy smiled at the two, glad for once that neither had their antagonistic attitudes towards each other and taking the time to enjoy their get together. She had tried to get Logan—Jimmy—to join them, but when faced with two who knew his past better than himself, he had run the opposite direction.

"So what have yuh b'n up ta, Darcy-doll?" John asked, discreetly letting out a burp from behind his hand.

"Well," she began a little shaky, "After travelling around with Logan, I finished my schooling and through Distance College, I got my degree in teaching. I, um, teach music." Zero smirked at her.

"Remember all the times she used to put on a concert for us after a mission, Wraith?" he snickered, "Jimmy and Wade looked forward to them most of all, proud of our little performer."

Hands slightly shaking, she tried to hide any affect from his words. "Yeah, well, I still perform. Occasionally there are some Indy concerts and a few bands that ask me every now and then to open for them."

"That's a great achievement," John said. "Knew ya were a talent'd girl."

Just as she was about to reply, Darcy's phone chirped. With an apologetic smile. She got up from the table and answered quickly. "What Logan? Couldn't you wait ten—" She froze, her eyes staring blankly into the beige walls of the room. The other two looked at her with growing confusion as they heard a man indistinctly talking to her from the other end.

The next few moments were nothing but a blur...

She turned...

The gun, hidden beneath Zero's coat zoomed into her hand...

BANG!

SMACK!

The phone clattered to the ground, the call disconnecting. Darcy blinked—once, twice—and then she started to scream. Zero's sightless eyes bored into her own. Wraith, unconscious on the floor near his friend, was bleeding horribly from a cut on his forehead. Her hands rose to cover her mouth and that was when she realised...the gun was still in her hands.

A window smashed the shattering glass so incredibly loud to her shocked senses. A form zoomed in and straightened. Wade. She stared at him, her mind completely unable to process.

"I...I don't know...w—what happened..." Darcy began to stutter out. "W—we were having dinner, I got a phone call...and...and...they were like t—this! And the gun in my hand!" A full out panic attack was in the works as he began to stalk towards her, no expression on his face. Pulling the gun from her whitened grip, he put the safety on and stuffed the thing into the back of his pants.

SMACK!

Darcy gasped, the throbbing pain from where he slapped her cheek brining her back to her senses. "I don't have time to deal with your hysterics, honey, we gotta jet." He pulled her back towards the window as the door to the dining room slammed open. Logan burst in, his metallic claws unsheathed.

"I didn't do it, Logan! You have to believe me!" Were her last words as Wade pulled them out into the night, disappearing without a word.


End file.
